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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE NAME, 
NATURE, AND FUNCTIONS, 

OF 

RULING ELDERS; 

WHEREIN IT IS SHOWN 

FROM THE TESTIMONY OF SCRIPTURE, THE FATHERS, AND 
THE REFORMERS, 

THAT 

RULING ELDERS ARE NOT PRESBYTERS OR BISHOPS ; 

AND THAT, 

AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE, THEIR OFFICE OUGH^ TO BE 

TEMPORARY. 

WITH 

AN APPENDIX, 

ON THE USE OF THE TITLE BISHOP. 

BY 

THOMAS SMYTH, D. D., 

AUTHOR OF ' ' LECTURES ON THE APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION." " PEISBTT1RY AND NOT 
PRELACY THE SCRIPTURAL AND PRIMITIVE POLITY," ETC. 



PUBLISHED: 




NEW- YORK, MARK H. NEWMAN, ROBERT CARTER, LEAYITT, TROW AND CO., AND 
WILEY AND PUTNAM ; PHILADELPHIA, PERKINS AND PURVES, AND WILLIAM 
S. MARTIEN ; CINCINNATI, WEED AND WILSON J PITTSBURGH, THOMAS 
CARTER ; BOSTON, CROCKER AND BREWSTER ; LONDON, 
WILEY AND PUTNAM ; EDINBURGH, W. P. KENNEDY ; 
BELFAST, WILLIAM M'COMB. 

1845 ? 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, 

By Leavitt, Trow & Company, 

the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of 
New- York. 




"F. TROW k CO., PRINTERS, 
33 Ann- Street, N. T. 



WITH PECULIAR EMOTIONS OF HOPE AND JOY, 

THE AUTHOR 

ASSOCIATES WITH THIS VOLUME THE NAMES 
OF 

WILLIAM DEARING-, HUGH WILSON, WILLIAM YE AD ON, 
WILLIAM C. DUXES, D. W. HARRISON, WILLIAM 
ADGER, AND WILLIAM HARRALL. 

TE.E 

Baling <&[i!ZX2, 

WHOSE RECENT ELECTION TO OFFICE 

GAVE OCCASION TO ITS PREPARATION. 

THE MOPE AND EXPECTATION 
OF 

THE CHURCH OVER WHICH THEY PRESIDE, 

MAY THEIR NAMES, THROUGHOUT ETERNITY, 

3$e ^ssocfatetr tottf) fts Spiritual ^Trtmncement, 

AND BEING NOW 
FOUND WISE TO WIN SOULS TO CHRIST, 
M.A Y THSY THEN 
SHINE AS STARS IN THE FIRMAMENT 
OF 

HEAVEN. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L 

PASS 

The nature, end, and object of the Church of Christ, its officers and ordi- 
nances, with a general review of the origin, title, and history of the 
office of Ruling Elder, 1 



CHAPTER II. 

In which it is shown that in Scripture the term Presbyter is always applied 
to the Preacher, and not to the Ruling Elder ; with an examination 
of 1 Timothy 5:17, . . 32 



CHAPTER III. 

The term Presbyter was applied by the Fathers only to Ministers who 
preached and ordained, and not to Ruling Elders, • . . ,601 

CHAPTER IV. 

The views of the Reformers on the subject of the Eldership, and on the 
application to it of the term Presbyter, 78 

CHAPTER V. 

On the permanency of the office of Ruling Elder, Ill 



CHAPTER VI. 



Of the Ordination of Ruling Elders by imposition of hands ; and their 
cooperation in ordination, . .118 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 



PAGE 

The value of the Eldership, ' . .124 

APPENDIX. 

On the use of the title Bishop, . . . . . . . . 143 

NOTES. 

Note A, . 169 

" B, , . . . . . . . . . 174 

. " C, | , : . . . . ■ . i.; -.183 

" D, . . , . ... . . . . 185 



PREFACE. 



In the following work it will appear that while there may- 
be unity, there cannot be — or at least there never has been— 
uniformity of opinion. This arises from the weakness and 
imperfection of our minds ; the many influences which shape 
and modify our view of evidence ; and the various " standing 
points " (as Neander would express it) from which we con- 
template the truth. This variety in the midst of unity is 
found even in doctrinal sentiment, but much more in mat- 
ters of ecclesiastical order. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, 
there will be found unity in all that is essential, and " liberty" 
to differ in all that is not fundamental. And when we wish to 
know what is essential and what is not essential to salvation, 
and therefore to the glory of God and the edification of his 
people, we have perhaps the best and only guide in the words 
of the apostle, "The letter killeth but the spirit giveth life; 5 ' 
" We are ministers, therefore, not of the letter but of the 
spirit." Just in proportion, therefore, as any point bears upon 
the spirituality of the church, and the spiritual well-being of 
its members, is it essential ; while just so far as it is but a 
means towards this end, and an instrumentality for securing 
this result, is it unessential, and one therefore about which dif- 
ferences of opinion may be more freely tolerated, and differen- 



viii 



PREFACE. 



ces of practice allowed. In reference to all such matters, we 
should act upon the apostolic canon : " Nevertheless/' (that 
is, notwithstanding " ye be otherwise minded/') "whereto we 
have attained " to unity of sentiment, " let us walk by the same 
rule, let us mind the same thing/' and be one in our affections 
towards each other. 

Speaking of this subject, the late Dr. Arnold, in his Frag- 
ment on the Church, says : — " Comparing these early Chris- 
tian writers with the Scriptures on the one hand, and with 
the later Church system on the other, as developed in the 
forged apostolical constitutions, we shall be able to trace three 
stages through which Christianity passed, and which indeed 
exhibit what may be called the law of decay in all institu- 
tions, whether administered by men only, or devised by them 
as well as administered. The first and perfect state exhibits 
the spirit of the institution not absolutely without all forms, 
for that is impossible : but regarding them as things wholly 
subordinate, indifferent in themselves, and therefore deriving 
their value from particular times and circumstances ; and as 
such particular times are not yet come, the spirit of the insti- 
tution is as yet wholly independent of them ; it uses their min- 
istry, but in no way depends upon their aid. Then comes the 
second stage, when from particular circumstances the exist- 
ence of the spirit of the institution depends on the adherence 
to particular outward regulations. The men of this genera- 
tion insist, as well they may, on the necessity of these forms, 
for without them the spirit would be lost. And because oth- 
ers profess to honor the spirit no less than they do, therefore 
they are obliged to make the forms rather than the spirit their 
peculiar rally ing-word. Around and for these forms is the 
stress of battle : but their defenders well know that they are 



PREFACE. 



but the husk in which the seed of life is sheltered ; that they 
are but precious for the sake of the seed which they contain, 
and to the future growth of which they, under the inclemen- 
cies of the actual season, are an indispensable condition. 

" Then the storm passes away, and the precious seed, safe- 
ly sheltered with its husk, has escaped destruction. The 
forms have done their appointed work, and, like the best of 
mortal instruments, their end should be, that after having serv- 
ed their own generation by the will of God, they should fall 
asleep and see corruption. But in the third stage men can- 
not understand this law. Their fathers clung to certain forms 
to the death ; they said — and said truly — that unless these 
were preserved, the spirit would perish. The sons repeat 
their fathers' words, although in their mouths they are become 
a lie. Their fathers insisted on the forms even more earnest- 
ly than on the spirit, because in their day the forms were pe- 
culiarly threatened. But now the forms are securely estab- 
lished, and the great enemy who strove to destroy them whilst 
they protected the seed of life, is now as ready to uphold them, 
because they may become the means of stifling it. But the 
sons, unheeding of this change, still insist mainly on the impor- 
tance of the forms, and seeing these triumphant, they rejoice, 
and think that the victory is won, just at the moment when a 
new battle is to be fought, and the forms oppress the seed in- 
stead of protecting it. Still they uphold the form, for that is 
a visible object of worship, and they teach their children to 
do the same. Age after age the same language is repeated, 
whilst age after age its falsehood is becoming more flagrant; 
and still it is said, c We are treading in the steps of our fathers 
from the very beginning ; even at the very first these forms 
were held to be essential. 5 So when the husk cracks, and 



X PREFACE. 

would fain fall to pieces by the natural swelling of the seed 
within, a foolish zeal labors to hold it together : they who 
would deliver the seed, are taxed with longing to destroy it ; 
they who are smothering it, pretend that they are treading in 
the good old ways, and that the husk was, is, and ever will be 
esssential. And this happens because men regard the form 
and not the substance ; because they think that to echo the lan- 
guage of their forefathers is to be the faithful imitators of their 
spirit ; because they are blind to the lessons which all nature 
teaches them, and would for ever keep the egg-shell unbro- 
ken, and the sheath of the leaf unburst, not seeing that the wis- 
dom of winter is the folly of spring." — pp. 119-121. 

We may therefore lay it down as a sure criterion of the 
scripturality and purity of any church, that while it is found 
contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, 
and for all the essential principles of ecclesiastical law, as far 
as they can be clearly discovered in the heavenly institutes, 
it is at the same time willing to receive and treat as brethren, 
those that " are otherwise minded " on matters pertaining to the 
outward form and order of the church, and the minute arrange- 
ments of ecclesiastical order. 

Such assuredly has been, and ought to be the character 
of the Presbyterian church. Such it was under apostolic 
regimen ; in its primitive development ; in its continued exist- 
ence in the Vaudois and Culdee churches : and in its period 
of glorious reformation. The views of Calvin and other re- 
formers we have presented elsewhere. We cannot, however, 
resist a quotation from the letter of (Ecolampadius, to the 
pastors of Soleure : " You will consider," he says, " the cer- 
emonies to be used in the Lord 5 s supper, which you are back- 
ward to omit and cannot omit without giving great offence. 



PREFACE. 



XI 



Some it seems follow the order of Zuric, some of Berne, and 
some that which we have adopted at Basle. We are here quite 
in harmony with Zuric and Berne, though we have a different 
ritual. When we began to reform the churches, we consid- 
ered what might be most useful to a weak people, without 
injury to the truth ; what the feeble-minded could bear. Our 
object was that, though in these respects we might differ from 
Zuric or Strasburg, while we preserved charity towards stran- 
gers we might maintain uniformity among ourselves, who 
were of the same state and under the same goverrynent. For 
the papists and other enemies of the truth, we showed no re- 
spect. Thanks be to God, the consequence is entire harmo- 
ny among the (reformed) clergy of Basle. The same is the 
case at Zuric and Berne ; no inconvenience follows from their 
little variations from us. Your case is at present different ; 
but nothing can be more advisable than that you should en- 
deavor to agree upon a common formulary among yourselves. 
Some I know make light of Zuingle, and some of (Ecolampa- 
dius ; we however are, and always have been friends, and no 
one gratifies us who would sow discord in the house of God 
under pretence of honoring either of us. The state of your 
affairs does not admit of a diversity of rites, because other 
sects are rising up among you : so that, though a variation of 
ceremonies is of little account among truly spiritual persons, 
yet among those in whom charity is more defective, if new 
and singular observances are introduced instead of those which 
commend themselves to the majority, this must lead to conten- 
tions. We have no wish to induce you to adopt our ceremo- 
nial, or that of Zuric, or that of Berne ; but uniformity among 
yourselves is very important ; and if this be in conformity with 
your neighbors it will tend the more to exclude ostentation 



xii 



PREFACE. 



and silence enemies. Is there any religion in a gold or wood- 
en cup ? or in the mystic bread being administered from silver 
or a glass dish ? Has Christ any more regard for those who 
sit, than for those who stand or kneel ? Does he obtain less 
who receives the sacrament from his own hand, than he who 
takes it from the hand of another person ? O wretched beings 
that we are, that in calamitous times like these, when the 
light of the gospel hath so clearly shone upon us, we should 
be so in bondage to elements, and forget how our liberty is 
to be used ^o the edification of our neighbors I" 1 

This spirit, in contrast with that of the Romanists and Pre- 
latists, who like the ancient Pharisees are most severely strict 
in enforcing uniformity in all the lesser matters, (the tithing 
of mint and anise and cummin, while they overlook the 
weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith,) has 
ever been the spirit of Presbyterianism. In further proof of 
this, we will only mention that as early as the year 1690, the 
General Assembly of Ihe Church of Scotland " authorized the 
moderator to declare in their names, that they would depose 
no incumbents simply for their judgment about the government 
of the church ;" 2 and that on this very subject of Ruling Elders, 
the French Reformed church left all its particular churches 
to act as they thought best and most accordant to the word 
of God. 

We do not hesitate, therefore, to say that there have been, 
are, and will be points of order, discipline, and law, about 
which differences of sentiment cannot but exist ; and the at- 
tempt to coerce opinion, or to make brethren offenders for a 

1 See in Scott's Contin. of Milner, vol. ii. 

2 Stewart's Collections, B. I. § 30. 



PREFACE. 



xiii 



word, or to magnify such matters into points of fundamental 
importance, or on their account to stir up controversy, discord 
and jealousy, we cannot but regard as equally unchristian 
and unpresbyterian. 

Believing therefore these things, we have not hesitated 
to give our opinions freely and fully on the question of the 
Eldership. This we believe to be one of the subjects on 
which we may attain to unity, but not to uniformity of views ; 
and the very admission, that while maintaining the office in 
some essential form, minor differences would be left to the 
determination of particular presbyteries or churches, would at 
once hush all sounds of " strife among brethren/' and lead 
us " whereto we have attained to mind the same thing." The 
spirit that would enforce uniformity, is the very spirit of in- 
tolerance and spiritual despotism, and therefore is the rule 
laid down by Augustine, as necessary to be remembered now 
as in his day : " In things essential, unity ; in things not essen- 
tial, liberty ; and in all things, charity." 

For any peculiar opinions, therefore, presented in this 
work, not at present general in our church, we offer in con- 
clusion, the apology given by the learned Vitringa, for simi- 
lar views : " Non culpo itaque nos Presbyteros Laicos ; quin 
agnosco eos et probo ut qui maxime. Ne peccem tamen in 
leges Fraternitatis cujus partem facio si rotunde enuneiem, ejus- 
modi me Presbyteros nullos reperire in Ecclesia apostolica pri- 
mi temporis, nullos etiam in Ecclesia temporum sequentium, 
nullos in Scriptis apostolorum aut monumentis sequentium 
aetatum quantum ilia seu a me seu ab aliis perlustrata sunt. 
Haec opinio sane mihi ita diu sedit ut in ea procedente tem- 
pore plenissime sim confirmatus et ut vitio mihi non repu- 
tem quod earn liberrime evulgem, etsi non aeque consonam 



XIV 



PREFACE. 



communi Ecclesiarum nostrarum sententiae. Cum enim haec 
quaestio inter articulos fidei nostras levissimi sit momenti, 
quam proinde cuique liberum est modeste et reverenter ven- 
tilare et Veritas rnihi at altera parte admodum aperte blandi- 
atur, nallus sequi et veri studiosus mihi invidebit, opinor 
libertatem defendendi sententiam, quam nulla alia ratio aut 
prsesumptio praeter vim veritatis me coegit amplecti. 1 



1 De Vet. Synag. p. 484. 



THE N A M E . 
NATURE, AND FUNCTIONS 

OF 

RULING ELDERS, 



THE NAME, NATURE, AND FUNCTIONS 

OF 

RULING ELDERS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The nature, end, and object of the Church of Christ, its officers and ordinances, 
with a general review of the origin, title, and history of the office of Ruling 
Elder. 1 

We will introduce the subject by quoting the words of the 
Apostle in his epistle to the Ephesians 4 : 8-16 : " Wherefore he 
saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and 
gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it but that 
he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth ? He that 
descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, 
that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles ; and 
some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and 
teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the minis- 
try, for the edifying of the body of Christ : till we all come in the 
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto 
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of 
Christ : that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and 
fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight 
of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to 
deceive : but speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him 
in all things, which is the head, even Christ : from whom the 
whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which 
every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the 

1 N. B. — This chapter formed the substance of two Discourses with Ad- 
dresses to the Elders and the People, on the occasion alluded to in the Dedi- 
cation. 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST., 



measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the 
edifying of itself in love." 

In this passage of holy Scripture, we have a delineation of 
the polity and design of the church. The object of Christ's as- 
cension was twofold. In the first place, it was the consummation 
and the triumph of his incarnate mystery. He had come down from 
heaven, and dwelt in this earth of ours : yea, and submitted, for a 
time, to lie in its caverns, under the power of death, that by this 
humiliation, abasement, and suffering in the room of sinners, he 
might purchase eternal redemption for those who had been hope- 
lessly enslaved by sin, Satan, the world, and death. These ene- 
mies Christ had vanquished on the cross, and put them to an 
open shame : and now, as a triumphant conqueror, he returned 
to his Father, ascending beyond the regions of the air into the 
highest heavens — " going up," as the Psalmist elsewhere expresses 
it, " with a shout, and with the sound of a trumpet" — leading in 
his train, and dragging, as it were, at his chariot wheels, those 
conquerors and oppressors who had enslaved his people ; entering 
the heavenly gates with the acclamations of all the celestial hier- 
archy ; and sitting on a throne of glory that he might fill all 
things with his influence, and direct and overrule all things by 
his wisdom and power. And as conquerors were accustomed to 
give largesses to their soldiers, so did the ascended Saviour 
pour down his royal donatives upon his faithful subjects — yea, 
gifts in which they even who had been long rebellious, were 
also to share. 

Having, therefore, laid the foundation of his church, in his 
complete and finished work of righteousness, and endowed it 
with its charter in his final cornmisien, Christ now shed down a 
rich variety of gifts and graces from his triumphal seat at the 
right hand of the Father, to qualify and endow his servants for 
those various offices which he has wisely and graciously instituted 
for the advancement of his kingdom and glory upon the earth. 
For this purpose, he appointed extraordinary officers, endowed 
with the gifts of tongues, of miracles, and of inspiration, to organ- 
ize, construct, and legislate for his infant church. The office 
of such supernaturally qualified men was personal, and terminat- 
ed with its first incumbents, whose writings and example per- 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



3 



petuate and extend their influence and authority to the remotest 
generations. But besides those who were thus extraordinary and 
adapted to the emergency of a new and rising commonwealth, 
Christ also provided for the settled and continued order and 
polity of his churches, by instituting the office of pastors and 
teachers, who are more technically called bishops or presbyters, 
whose duty it should be to preside in the several congregations 
of his people ; to take the oversight of them in the Lord ; and 
to instruct them out of his word, teaching them to observe all 
things whatever he had commanded, either while personally on 
earth or by the mouth of these inspired apostles and prophets. 
To these officers, and to the body of his people, Christ gave the 
power, and assigned the duty of carrying out the purposes of 
his redeeming love ; gathering congregations, celebrating his or- 
dinances, obeying all his laws, and perpetuating his church to 
the end of the world. And as, in accordance with the great fun- 
damental principle of representation, which lies at the foundation 
of all society, natural, social, and moral, it was found that the 
interests of the church would be promoted by a delegation of 
power to a few who should act for, and in the name of the body, 
and be responsible to them, we find that very early in the history 
of the apostolic churches, officers were appointed and repre- 
sentatives chosen to carry out the wishes of the brethren, and to 
consult, deliberate, rule and act, in their name. Of this class were 
the Deacons, to whom properly belongs the oversight and control 
of the temporal affairs of the church, and the appropriation of 
its funds to the relief of the poor ; not, however, in independence 
of the other officers, but in connexion with them. For, as all 
the higher officers include the lower, so " the deacons' court" in- 
cluded the minister and elders, before whom every point requiring 
consultation was to be brought, the carrying out of all such finan- 
cial arrangements alone constituting the peculiar work and duty 
of the Deacons. 1 Besides the deacons it would appear that other 

1 The following is the arrangement adopted by the Free Church of Scot- 
land : 

The duties of Elders, as laid down by the General Assembly. 
Respecting the peculiar duties of elders : — 



4 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



brethren were chosen to represent the people in all the coun- 
cils of the church, and to form with the bishop or presbyter a 
standing court, in connexion with each congregation charged 

1. That they sit in session along with the minister, and assist in the 
administration of discipline, and in the spiritual government of the church. 

2. That they take a careful oversight of the people's morals and religious 
principles, of the attendance upon public ordinances, and of the state of personal 
and family religion. 

3. That they visit the sick from time to time in their several districts. 

4. That they superintend the religious instruction of the young, and assist 
the minister in ascertaining the qualifications of applicants for admission to 
sealing ordinances. 

5. That they superintend and promote the formation of meetings within 
their districts, for prayer, reading the Scriptures, and Christian fellowship, 
among the members of the church. 

The duties of Deacons. 
Respecting the peculiar duties of deacons : — 

1. That they give special regard to the whole secular affairs of the con- 
gregation. 

2. That they attend to the gathering of the people's contributions to the 
general fund for the sustentation of the ministry ; and that they receive the 
donations which may be made for other ecclesiastical purposes. 

3. That they attend to the congregational poor. 

4. That they watch over the education of the children of the poor. 

Elders and Deacons. 
Respecting the duties which are common to elders and deacons : — 

1. That both elders and deacons may receive the Sabbath collections of 
the people, according to such arrangements as shall be made by the deacons' 
court. 

2. That, for the better discharge of their peculiar duties respectively, as 
well as with a view to increased opportunities of doing good, both elders and 
deacons visit periodically the districts assigned to them, and cultivate an ac- 
quaintance with the members of the church residing therein. 

3. That it is competent for elders to be employed as deacons, when a 
sufficient number of deacons cannot be had. 

4. That deacons may assist the elders with their advice, whether in session 
or otherwise, when requested so to do. 

The Deacons' Court. 

Respecting the meeting of minister, elders and deacons, for secular affairs ; 
which meeting may be called the Deacons' Court : — 

1. That the minister preside in said meeting, when he is present; 
and, in his absence, any elder or deacon whom the meeting may fix upon. 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



5 



with maintaining the spiritual government of the church : for 
which purpose, according to our standards, they had power to 
inquire into the knowledge and Christian conduct of the mem- 

2. That the said meeting, or deacons' court, is convened by citation from 
the pulpit, or by personal notice to the members thereof, and is called by 
authority of the minister, or at the requisition of any three members, — said 
requisition being addressed to the minister, or, in time of a vacancy of the 
pastoral charge, to the clerk of the said court ; and the proceedings are opened 
and closed with prayer. 

3. That this court has the management and charge of the whole property 
belonging to the congregation, including church, session-house, manse, school- 
buildings, &c, and of all its secular affairs, — including, of course, the appropri- 
ation of seats, with the determination of all questions relating thereto. And 
it is the province and duty of said court to transmit, from time to time, to the 
treasurer appointed by the General Assembly, or their committee, the funds raised 
for the general sustentation of the ministry ; also, to apply the remaining congre- 
gational funds, in fitting proportions, to the support of the ministry, the payment of 
the salaries of the various subordinate functionaries, and the defraying of all neces- 
sary charges connected with the property, or with the dispensation of Christian or- 
dinances ; to apply, moreover, any surplus which may thereafter arise, to religious, 
ecclesiastical, educational, or benevolent objects ; likewise to make special collec- 
tions at the church-door, as often as may appear to them to be necessary, for the 
temporal relief of poor members of the congregation, and for the education of 
the children of the poor ; and, finally, to receive the deacons' reports of their 
proceedings, to give them such advice and instruction as may be required, 
and to decide as to the payments made by them for the relief of the poor and 
the education of youth. 

4. That while the church is solely at the disposition of the minister for all 
religious purposes, the consent of the deacons' court, as well as of the minister, 
is necessary, before any meeting, not strictly of a religious, ecclesiastical, or 
charitable nature, can be held in it. 

5. That the said court shall have one or more treasurers and a clerk, and 
a separate record for the minutes of its proceedings. 

6. That the record of the court, with the treasurer's account of receipt and 
expenditure, after said account shall have been duly audited by appointment of 
the court, shall be annually exhibited to the presbytery of the bounds, at the 
first ordinary meeting thereof after the 15th of March, for the purpose of being 
examined and attested by the presbytery at said meeting. 

7. That on the first Monday after said attestation of the record and trea- 
surer's account, or on some convenient day of the first or second week following 
the attestation by the presbytery, a congregational meeting shall be held, when 
the deacons' court shall present a report of its proceedings for the preceding 
year, give such information and explanations as may be asked for, and receive 
any suggestions which may be offered by the members of the congregation for 



6 OF THE CHURCH OP CHRIST, 

bers of the church ; to call before them offenders and witnesses, 
being members of their own congregation, and to introduce other 
witnesses, where it may be necessary to bring the process to issue, 
and when they can be procured to attend : to admonish, to re- 
buke, to suspend, or exclude from the sacraments those who are 
found to deserve censure; to concert the best measures for pro- 
moting the spiritual interests of the congregation ; and to appoint 
delegates to the higher judicatories of the church. 

Dr. Hinds, who is chaplain to the archbishop of Dublin, in 
his History of the Rise and Progress of Christianity, says — 
" When, therefore, we read that a decree was made by the apos- 
tles, presbyters, and the whole church, one of two things must 
be supposed to have taken place : either the presbyters took 
each the sense of his own congregation, or the presbyters and 
other official persons, it may be, met as the representatives, each 
of his own congregation, and all of the church collectively. 
The former supposition is certainly encumbered with more and 
greater difficulties than the latter. The subject proposed at 
these Christian meetings, seems, from the tenor of the narrative 
throughout, to have been first presented to the church in any 
shape ; and the decisions took place before the meeting was 
dissolved. There are no marks of any previous notice of the 
matter to be discussed, so as to enable the several presbyters to 
consult the opinions and wishes of their constituents; and the 
decision took place without any interval to allow of an after 
consultation. Against the remaining supposition, namely, that 
the presbyters and other official persons, perhaps, met as the ple- 
nipotentiaries, each of his own body, the strongest obstacle lies 
in the phrase, ' It seemed good to the presbyters with the 
whole church.' Now this expression, after all, may imply no 
more than that it seemed good to the presbyters, and whatever 
other members of the council in conjunction with them, may be 
called the whole church, beca use appointed to represent it.'" 

the consideration of the court, with reference to the future distribution of the 
funds. The congregational meeting shall be convened by intimation from the 
pulpit, and the minister, if present, shall preside in it. 

8. That to the said court shall belong the appointment and dismissal of 
the church-officer and door-keepers. — See note A. 

1 Volume 1, page 349, and see pages 347, 348. See also similar opinions in 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



7 



But while we believe that such officers are to be found in 
<( the brethren" who sat in the council at Jerusalem, in "the helps 
and governments" elsewhere alluded to ; and in " the church" 
before which offences were to be brought 1 ; we are strong in the 
belief that they are never once spoken of under the term pres- 
byter or elder, which always refers to the teacher or bishop solely ; 
and that the primitive churches were left at liberty to carry on 
the business of the church, either with or without such repre- 
sentatives, just as might be found most expedient, and most pro- 
motive of their peace, purity and harmony. For in no other way 
can we account for the fact that nowhere in the New Testa- 
ment are these representatives enumerated as a distinct class of 
officers, as are the deacons and the bishops : that nowhere do 
we find distinct qualifications laid down for such officers, as we 
do for the bishop or presbyter, and for the deacons and deacon- 
esses ; 2 and the fact also that it is beyond controversy that down 
to a late period, some, at least, of the largest churches continued 
to carry on the business of the congregation in their general and 

reference to the delegated character of " the brethren " in this Council, by- 
Bishop Jewell, Def. of Apol. Part 1, p. 41 : by Whitaker De Concil, Quaest. 
3, cap. 3 ; in Jameson's Cyprianus Isotimus, pp.542, 543. See also Bucer De 
Gubern, Eccl. p. 84, in ibid. p. 555. Barnard's Synagogue and the Church, p. 258. 

Blondel judges, that 'tis most probable, that, in the time of the Apostles, 
not the whole multitude, but only their seniors used to convene for choosing of 
their Deaconsjor such affairs. (De Jure Plebis, Francfort, 1690, p. 262, quoted 
in the original in Jameson's Cypr. Isot. p. 542.) 

" I can't, indeed," says Professor Jameson, M during the first three centuries, 
find express mention of these seniors or ruling elders ; for I freely pass from 
some words of Tertullian and Origen which I elsewhere overly mentioned as 
containing them ; as also from what I said of the Ignatian Presbyters, their 
being Ruling or non -preaching Elders, and that without giving of much advantage 
to the Diocesanists, since in and about the Cyprian age, in which time, as I judge, 
the author or interpolator wrote, there were belonging to the same church, parish, 
or congregation, divers Presbyters, who preached little, if any ; and yet had 
power to dispense the word and sacraments." (Do. p. 544.) See further 
proofs in Clarkson's Primitive Episcopacy, pp. 92, 100, 104, 105. Burn's 
Eccl. Law on Church Wardens and Visitation. Many eminent Presbyterian 
writers are of opinion that Ruling Elders are not of divine right, but as they 
act for and represent the people. (See Biblical Repertory, 1832, p. 28.) 

1 Matt. 18. 15-18. 

2 See the Biblical Repertory, April, 1843, page 327. 



& 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



democratic form. 1 Experience, however, proved, as it still 
proves in Congregational churches, the inexpediency and danger 

1 As to the actual practice of the primitive churches, the following, out of 
innumerable proofs, may suffice. In the times succeeding the Apostolic, the 
people were always consulted in the selection of ministers. First, with respect 
to Bishops ; Cyprian, in his letter to Antonianus, writes thus in reference to 
the election of Cornelius, Bishop of Rome : " For that which commends our 
most beloved Cornelius to God, and to Christ, and to his Church, and to all 
his brethren, in the Priesthood, is, that he did not come to his Bishopric sud- 
denly, but he passed through all the different orders of the Church, and he was 
made Bishop by very many of our Colleges who were then at Rome, who sent 
to us, in reference to his ordination, the highest testimonials in his praise. He 
was made their Bishop by the will of God and of his Christ, by the testimony of 
almost all the Clergy, by the suffrages of the people who were then present." 
We learn from this passage that Cornelius was elected to his Bishopric by the 
Bishops, but that his election was confirmed by the suffrages of the people. 
In another Epistle he says : The ordination of Priests ought not to take place, 
but with the approval of the people : that by their presence either the crimes 
of bad men may be detected, or the merits of good men proclaimed ; and 
let that be a just and legitimate ordination, which shall have been determined 
on by the suffrages and judgment of all. Eusebius gives .similar testimony ; 
speaking of the election of Fabian, Bishop of Rome, he says, " That all the 
people who had assembled at the election cried out that he was worthy." In 
a letter from a Council held at Nice, to the Church at Alexandria, it is en- 
joined, " That no one be chosen into the room of any Bishop deceased, unless 
he appear worthy, and the people elect him ; the bishop of the. city of Alex- 
andria giving his approval and confirming the judgment of the people." 

With respect to the appointment of Presbyters, &c, though the consent of 
the people was not absolutely necessary, yet no Bishop of good repute would 
appoint one, contrary to the expressed wish of the people. " In ordaining 
Clergymen, beloved brethren, we are accustomed first to consult you, and to 
consider with you the merits and deserts of each." See quoted in Vitringa De Vet. 
Synag. lib.ii. cap. vi. of Bernard's Synag. pp. 170-172. See the most ample proofs 
on this subject in " Coleman's Primitive Church " recently printed in this 
country. See chapter IV. on the elections by the Church, in which he shows 
that suffrage was enjoyed by the primitive churches, and when this was with- 
drawn, p. 54, &c. In chapter V. he shows how far discipline was exercised 
by the people. The epistles of all the apostolical fathers are addressed to the 
churches at large, and imply that the members or their delegates had the power 
of judging in all cases. See page 96, &c. See also evidence from Tertullian and 
others ; page 99, 104, &c. This view is confirmed by the ablest historiaus, 
Valencis, Du Pin, Simonis^ Mosheim, Guerike, Neander, &c. " Thus is it 
proved," says Mr Coleman, " that the church continued for two or three cen- 
turies, to regulate her own discipline by the will of the majority, expressed 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



9 



of such a course , its impotcncy and inefficiency on the one hand, 
and on the other hand its tendency to produce parties, schisms 
and disturbances, and even tumults and open raptures in the 
church. 1 We find, therefore, in after times, a general, if not 
universal adoption of the principle of representation, and the 
government of the churches through officers chosen from time 
to time bv the members of the church, and variously called 
seniors of the people, sidesmen or assistants, wardens, eldermen, 
and elders, ancients and rectors, the name betokening not the 
age of these officers, but their character, gravity, and established 
reputation, as wise and pious men. In the progress of that 
great apostacy, which for ultimate purposes of good has been 
permitted to come upon the church, prelates were introduced in 
conformity with the high priests of the hierarchy of pagan 
Rome; 2 the simple order of bishops or presbyters was multiplied 
into the numerous and paganized orders now found in the Greek 
and Roman churches; the name and rights of God's " clergy," 
that is, his chosen people, (see 1 Peter 2 : 9,) and of his true 
ministers, were monopolized by these prelatical despots, who 
constituted themselves into a hierarchy, and excluded the laity 
and the inferior clergy, as the Lord's freemen and ambassadors 
were icrnominiously called, from all right, title, and authority, 
whatsoever, in that heavenly commonwealth of which Christ had 
constituted them citizens, yea even priests and kings unto God. 3 
The Reformation, by the great grace and mercy of Him 
either by popular vote, or by a representative eele&atiox ceosex by the^i/* 
p. 95. The Synods also or Councils at first clearly considered themselves as 
representative bodies, delegated by the whole church. " Ipsa representatis 
totius noininis Christiani." says Tertullian, De Jejun, c. 13.. p. 552. See Jio- 
sheim De Rebus Christ. Sect. II. § 23 , and Coleman, p. 115. See aiso Note 
B, end. 

1 See note C. 

2 See plain and palpable proof of this given in a work on " The Conformity 
between Modern and Ancient Ceremonies, wherein is proved, by incontestible 
authorities, that the ceremonies of the Church of Rome are entirely derived 
from the heathen, by Pierre Mussard, Pastor of the French or Huguenot Church 
at Lyons. London, 1745, chap. ii. and iii."' This part of the parallel is, for 
very obvious reasons, omitted in the recently reprinted work by Siopford, " Pa- 
gano Papismus," which is, like Middleton's Letter from Rome, a substantial 
reprint of this volume. 

s See the author's work on Presbvtery and Prelacy, chap. xiv. p. 295. occ. 

2* 



10 OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



whose glorious work it was, restored to the Christian people 
their birth-right, and to the bishops or presbyters, — the true and 
only ministers of Christ, — their standing in the regenerated 
church ; and again committed to their hands the oracles of God, 
the doctrines of grace, the administration of discipline, and the 
general oversight of the church. And we find that just as there 
was then a heaven-guided unanimity in their confession of all 
the leading doctrines the gospel, by all the Reformed churches, 
— so was there also the same marvellous and supernatural con- 
currence in the belief that there is but one order of ministers in 
Christ's church, and that it of right belongs to Christ's people, 
—and not to any despotic or Erastian hierarchy — to govern and 
direct her affairs in conformity to the order, polity, and laws laid 
down in Christ's written and infallible word. 1 Wherever, 
therefore, the civil power did not interfere, as it did in England, 
to coerce and restrain the free action of God's disenthralled peo- 
ple, we find that they settled down into that form of polity which 
is still perpetuated in non-Episcopal churches. Besides bishops 
or presbyters, who came to be called ministers and pastors, in 
order to distinguish them from those who had prostituted the 
scriptural title of bishop to the designation of the man-made 
order of prelates, and who had associated this name with every 

1 That such was very strongly the opinion of the Reformed churches, will 
appear from the following quotation from the Smalcald Articles : — " Ubi est 
igitur vera Ecclesia, ibi necesse est esse jus eligendi et ordinandi Ministros ; 
sicut in casu necessitatis absolvit etiam Laieus, et fit Minister ac Pastor, al te- 
rms : sicut narrat Augustinus historiam de duobus Christianis in navi, quorum 
alter baptizaverit Karri xovpevov et is baptizalus deinde absolverit alteram. Hue 
pertinent sententise Christi, quae testantur, claves Ecclesise datas esse, non tan- 
tum certis personis. (Matt. 18 : 20.) Ubicunque erunt duo vel tres congregati 
in nomine meo, etc. 

" Postremo etiam hoc confirmat sententia Petri : (1 Peter 2 : 9.) Vos estis 
regale Sacerdotium. Quse verba ad veram Ecclesiam pertinent, quss cum sola 
habeat Sacerdotium, certe habeat jus eligendi et ordinandi Ministros. Idque 
etiam communissima Ecclesiee consuetudo testatur. Nam olim populus elige- 
bat Pastores et Episcopos. Deinde accedebat Episcopus, seu ejus Ecclesiae, 
seu vicinus, qui confirmabat electum impositione manuum, nec aliud fuit ordi- 
natio nisi talis comprobatio." (Hase's Libri Symbolici. Leipsic, 1837, vol. I, 
p. 253.) 

See also many authorities given in the author's work on Presbytery and not 
Prelacy, ch. iii. § 3, p. 74, &c, where the subject is fully treated. 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



11 



thing cruel, tyrannical and unholy, 1 they universally agreed 
that it was in accordance wi'h Scripture, to appoint in every 
congregation some representatives of the people, who should 
be associated with the ministers in all acts of religion and gov- 
ernment: that is, in all those acts, and only those, in which the 
people had an inherent right to consult, vote, deliberate and act, 
in conformity with the original commission and charter of the 
church. And as Christ had instituted an order of men for the 
express purpose of teaching, administering the sacraments, and 
ordaining those whom the church should approve, to the same 
high and holy ministry, and had, therefore, excluded the peo- 
ple from any ordinary intrusion into those offices, they also 
who represented the people, and were clothed with the dele- 
gated rights possessed by the people, were necessarily limited 
to a co-operation with the bishops of the churches in those things 
that pertained to order, government and eliscipline. 2 

Such assuredly were the views entertained by the Reformers. 
While they all agreed as to the expediency and propriety of such 
officers, there was great variety in the names by which ruling 
elders were called. In the Belgic confession they are termed 
" seniors," 3 by which word they were distinguished in the enu- 
meration of the fathers from the presbyters. In the ecclesiastical 
laws of the church of Geneva, they are called " inspectors," and 
M seniors,"' and " commissioners for the seniory" or consistory. 4 

"The Waldenses," says Bucer, " besides ministers of the 
word and sacraments, have a certain college of men, excelling in 
prudence and gravity of spirit, whose office it is to correct and 
admonish offending brethren. J ' 5 These are called " rulers, an- 
cients and elders. /,; The Syrian churches, which have existed 

1 See Counsellor Prynne's Antipathie of the English Lordly Prelacy, Both 
to Regal Monarchy and to Civil Unity, or an Hist. Collection of the Several 
execrable Treasons, Conspiracies, Rebellions, Seditions, Oppressions, &c, of 
our English, British, French and Irish Lordly Prelates, &c. London, 2 vols, 
4to. 1641. 

See Form of Government, eh. i, § 2. 

3 Art. 31. See in Xiemeyefs Coiiecrio Conf. in Eccl. Ref. p. 382. 

4 See this fully proved hereafter. 

5 Quoted by Sir S. Moreland, page 60, in Plea for Presbytery, page 347. 

6 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 507, and Plea for Presbytery, p. 347, &e. 



12 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



from the earliest period, called them " representatives of the 
people." 1 The Bohemian churches called them "seniores ec- 
clesiae" 2 or " the assistants/' as Comenius terms them. 

In the Book of Common Order of the English church at Ge- 
neva, of which John Knox was minister, which was approved 
by Calvin, and received and used by the Reformed church of 
Scotland, and formerly prefixed to the psalms in metre, they are 
called " elders," the words being evidently a translation of the 
term " seniores," and not of the Greek term presbyters, and cer- 
tainly not of that passage in the epistle to Timothy, from which 
they have now come to be generally denominated " ruling 
.elders." 3 In the first Book of Discipline of the Church of Scot- 
land, drawn up by John Knox and others in 1560, the terms 
" elders" and " seniors" are both employed. 4 In the order for 
the election of elders, found in Knox's manuscript history, and 
published in 1569, they are are called " eldaris and helparis." 5 
In the Second Book of Discipline of the Church of Scotland, 
agreed upon in 1578, ministers are called " pastors, Episcopi or 
bishops, or ministers," 6 — and it is shown to be their peculiar 
function to teach, to administer the sacraments, to bless the peo- 
ple, to pronounce all sentences of binding or loosing " after law- 
ful proceeding be the eldership," 7 for it adds, " he is a messen- 
ger andherauld betwixt God and the people, (including of course 
in this term, people, the elders themselves, who merely represent 
the people in all these affairs)." This declaration of the functions 
of a minister must certainly include " laying on of hands," since 
this must be regarded as belonging to "the power of the keyes 
grantid unto the Kirk," 8 and of which the minister is declared to 
be the messenger and herald. In this work elders are called 

1 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 421. 

2 See do. p. 520, and Plea, &c, p. 356. 

3 See Dunlop's Confession of Faith, vol. 2, p. 408. 1 Tim. 5: 17, is never 
quoted in proof. 

4 Do. do. pp. 577, 578, § 5, p. 580, § 8. 

5 Do. do. page 637. 

6 Dunlop's Confession of Faith, vol. 2, p. 770. 

7 An old manuscript has, « It appertains to the Minister be lawful precon- 
cluding with the Eldership." Do. do. pp. 771, 772. 

8 Do. do. 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



13 



u seniors or elders," 1 " sic as we commonly call elders." 2 " In 
this our division," it is added, " we call these elders whom the 
Apostles called presidents or governors," and the propriety of 
having a Church Session, or " particular eldership," this Book 
founds .upon the fact that " this we gather of the practice of the 
primitive Kirk, where elders or colleges of seniors were consti- 
tute in cities and famous places." " It appertains to elders," ac- 
cording to this Book, among other things, " to assist the pastor 
in the examination of them that comes to Lord's table," but 
in no way is it implied that they should interfere with the pecu- 
liar function of the ministry, to wit, the public consummation of 
all such proceedings by imposition of hands, pronouncing of sen- 
tence, introduction into the church by public covenant, &c. 
For while it is undoubtedly true that such particular elderships 3 
are empowered by this Book to " excommunicate the obstinate," 
and " to take heed that the word of God be purely preached 
within their bounds, the sacraments rightly administered, and 
even " deposition" to be pronounced, &,c, no one will pretend 
that the ruling elders were to preach, administer sacraments, or 
pronounce sentence of excommunication. And therefore, when 
the provincial assembly have the power given them by this book 
to examine and ordain ministers, it cannot be pretended that the 
final and public ministerial act of " imposition of hands" is to be 
performed by elders, merely because it appertains to them to as- 
sist the ministers in all the preparatory examinations and decis- 
ions necessary to such final ordination. 

In the Directory " Concerning Church Government," drawn 
up by the Westminster Assembly, and adopted by the Church of 
Scotland, and still in force, as " The form of Presbyterial Church 
Government," used by it and published with the Confession of 
Faith — in this work, ruling elders are never so called, nor is their 
office ever founded on the passage where these words occur (i. e. 
1 Tim : 5, 17, They are usually entitled throughout this work, 

1 Dunlop's Confession of Faith, vol. 2, p. 774. " Sometimes," it is said 
the word in Scripture is taken largely, compehending as well the pastors and 
doctors. 

2 Do. page 776. 

3 See do. do. pp, 779, 780. 



14 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



" other church governors." 1 These " officers," it is said, " Re- 
formed churches commonly called elders." 2 The early English 
Puritans held that " by God's ordinance every congregation 
should make choice of other officers as assistants unto the minis- 
ter in the spiritual regiment of the congregation." 3 Thus 
Cartwright in A. D. 1590 calls them " those that have charge of 
government only." 4 And, not lo enlarge, our own standards, 
while they adopt the common title of " ruling elders" yet fully 
and advisedly define and characterize these officers as being 
" properly the representatives of the people, chosen by them for 
the purpose of exercising government and discipline in conjunc- 
tion with pastors or ministers. This office," it is added, " has 
been understood by a great part of the Protestant Reformed 
churches to be designated in the Holy Scriptures by the title of 
governments, and of those who rule well but do not labor in 
word and doctrine." 

In the Genevan church, in the English church there, and in 
all the continental churches, the office was temporary, the incum- 
bents being elected yearly or every second year. Such also was 
the doctrine laid down in the first Book of Discipline, and the 
practice it enjoins. By the second Book of Discipline the office 
was made permanent, but it was arranged that a sufficient num- 
ber might be appointed to allow a certain quota to officiate alter- 
nately. In the French Protestant churches, the office was and is 
temporary. In the Reformed Dutch church, Elders are elected 
every two years. 5 

As to ordination, the earliest and fullest account is that given 
by the Confession of the Bohemian church, adopted in 1632. 
" They who are chosen by a plurality of votes after evening ser- 
mon is ended, are called forth by the visitor and the duties of 
their office are read to them. And they by word, and with the 

1 I use a copy printed in 1688. See pp. 422, 425. 

2 Page 426, Romans 12: 7, 8, and 1 Cor. 12 : 28, are given as proof texts, 
but not 1 Tim. 5 : 17, which is never once quoted in all the varied references 
to the subject, pp. 427, 429, 431, 434, &c. 

3 See quoted by Dr. Ames in Plea for Presbytery, page 360. 

4 Confut. of the Remist's Transl. 1618, p. 573. 

5 Lorimer on the Eldership, p. 165. 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



15 



Jilted hand, promise faithfulness and diligence. And that in the 
church also they may discharge the duty of watchmen, they are 
honored with a peculiar seat, that they may the more convenient- 
ly see the people." 1 It thus appears from this model, which 
doubtless embraced the views of the Reformed churches, that 
no imposition of hands was employed in the ordination of Elders. 
That such was the case in the Church of Geneva is certain. And 
that no such form has ever been introduced into the Presbyterian 
churches of Scotland and Ireland is also certain. Neither is any 
such form prescribed or implied in our own standards, or used 
by any other branch of the Presbyterian chrch, sofar as is 
known to us. 

The duties of Elders in the Church of Scotland, are thus laid 
down in Steuart's Collections, a work which was of standard au- 
thority in this country until the aboption of our own form of gov- 
ernment, and which constituted the basis on which that form was 
constructed. 2 "The duties of the Elders which are more 
public are those which lie upon them in the assemblies of the 
church in which ruling Elders have right to reason and vote in 
all matters coming before them, even as ministers have ; for in 
General Assemblies their commissions bear them to the same 
power with pastors. Howbeit by the practice of our church, the 
execution of some decrees of the church doth belong to the pas- 
tors only, such as the imposition of hands, the pronouncing of 
the sentences of excommunication and absolution, the receiving 
of penitents, the intimation of sentences and censures about 
ministers and such like. In short, the Elder is to speak nothing 
to the church from the pulpit." 

It might have been thought therefore impossible, but for facts 
to the contrary, for any question ever to have arisen as to the right 
or duty of ruling elders to join in imposing hands at the ordination 
of ministers. For surely if there is one act peculiar to ministers 
as " the messengers and heralds between God and the people" it 
is this, and how can it with any propriety be the function of an 
officer who has never himself been similarly inducted into office. 

1 See page 51 as quoted in Plea for Presbytery, p. 356. 

2 See Compendium of the Laws of the Church of Scotland, vol. I, pp. 223, 
224. 



16 OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 

Certain it is that in the Directory of the Westminster Assembly, 
which is the standard of all the Scotch, Irish, and most of the 
American Presbyterian Churches, it is again and again declared 
as if by a frequent and intentional repetition, that " preaching 
presbyters orderly associated are those to whom the imposition of 
hands doth appertain for those congregations within their bounds 
respectively." 1 And it is even required in the great emergency 
in which the church then stood, that " it is requisite that minis- 
ters be ordained by some who, being set apart themselves for the 
work of the ministry, have power to join in setting apart 
others." 2 

It is, therefore to be hoped, that a question so clearly settled 
by the universal practice of our own church, and of every sister 
church, will be put to rest, and that elders especially will not be 
found agitating the church by such vain and foolish questions, 
which gender strifes, and while they do no good, stand in the way 
of much that might be accomplished. 

Such then are the officers which the ascended Saviour institu- 
ted in his church. Now the great end aimed at in the organiza- 
tion, polity, ordinances and offices of the church, was its complete 
organization, and therefore its efficiency. Thus speaks the apos- 
tle in the above passage, where he says that the object of all this 
varied ministry was to prepare believers for the perfect enjoy- 
ment of all Christian privileges, and the successful discharge of 
all Christian obligations to the impenitent around them and to 
the world at large. 3 The church itself, and all its officers and 
the whole machinery of its spiritual organization, are not to be 
regarded, as in themselves considered, of value or importance, 
any more than the rites and ceremonies, the types and shadows 
of the ancient economy. Like them, they are means for the ac- 
complishment of an ultimate end, and will, when that end is at- 
tained, pass away and be forgotten. These constitute but the 
building for the accommodation of the redeemed, while in this 
land of their pilgrimage ; and like the rude frame-work of the 
tabernacle, will give place to that temple not made with hands, 

1 See Lorimer on the Eldership, pp. 438, 443. 2 See page 449. 

3 See the remarks on this passage in the author's work on Presbytery and 
Prelacy, pp. 33, 83, 85, 107, 138. 



AXD THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER . 



17 



eternaJ in the heavens. To allow, then, our devotion to ter- 
minate on the outward form, order, ministry, or ordinances of 
any church; or our confidence to be placed upon our connexion 
with them, is nothing short of idolatry , and can be no more ac- 
ceptable to God, who is a Spirit, and must be worshiped in spir- 
it and in truth, than the worship of the golden calves of Aaron 
and of Jeroboam. The apostle therefore directs our attention to 
the great and ultimate end for which Christ became the founda- 
tion and the chief corner stone of Zion, and for which he has 
instituted all its Jaws, polity, and ordinances. These are all de- 
signed to increase the number and perfect the hearts of them 
that should hereafter believe on his name, that they should no 
longer be left like children, helpless and exposed ; or like the 
waves of the sea be tossed to and fro by every new doctrine and 
opinion ; or like clouds be borne hither and thither by every 
gust of sophistical delusion which cunning and eloquent men may 
advance; but may rather be enabled by a steadfast and affectionate 
adherence to the truths of the gospel, and the simple ordinances 
of Christ, to grow up to the maturity of perfect men, and to the 
full measure of that spiritual maturity which is the fullness of 
Christ, the great centre of union, and the only source of life and 
joy: and may thus attain to that holiness which will fit them to 
become residents in his mansion in the skies, and meet partakers 
of an inheritance among the saints in light. Such is the true 
and ultimate end aimed at in the constitution of the church 
and its ministrations, and just so far as it is found effectual in ac- 
complishing this glorious result is it to be regarded as fulfilling 
its high destiny. In this aspect the true character and impor- 
tance of these offices and ordinances become apparent; and 
their wise and merciful adaptation to the capacities and wants of 
weak, erring, and mutable creatures, and to the social sympathies 
of our nature, clear and manifest. The church is our home, its 
ministers our kind instructors, its officers our guardians and 
friends, its members our brethren and sisters, and its ordinances 
and public assemblies those spiritual meals where we are gathered 
around the sacred and family board, and partake together of the 
provisions of everlasting life and joy. And just as the family 
homestead, the instructions there given, and the sympathies 



18 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



there awakened, irradiate life's otherwise cheerless pathway with 
the continual sunshine of happiness and peace, and fit us for the 
proper discharge of life's duties, and a patient endurance of its 
trials ; so do all the influences which encompass us round about 
in the dwelling-place of the children of God, give us in this life 
peace and contentment, and many an hour of rapturous exulta- 
tion, and prepare us for the blessedness and the activities of a 
better world. 

By the ministrations of the church and the faithful proclama- 
tion of the gospel, men are led to believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and thus become united to Him as their legal, vital, and 
ever-living head. And by a union with the church, men are 
also brought into the relation of spiritual unity and brotherhood 
with those who are members of Christ's body, and become with 
them branches of the same vine, sheep of the same fold, soldiers 
in the same host, members of the same body, children of the 
same household, indwellers in the same ark of deliverance, heirs 
to the same inheritance, and laborers in the same vineyard. 
Now the ministrations of the church promote this double union 
to Christ the common Head, and to fellow-Christians; and thus 
enable it by the unity of its spirit, the harmony of its plans, the 
affectionateness of its members one for another, by its public at- 
testation to the truth, by its holy light, influence and example, 
and by its active, zealous and liberal devotion to the cause of 
Christ, to make the Gospel sound forth into all the region round 
about, arid to the very remotest bounds of the earth. For this 
purpose does Christ, the good shepherd, still continue to send 
forth ministers as under shepherds, that they may gently lead his 
flock along the green pastures, and beside the still waters; gath- 
er the lambs into his arms of mercy; and feed them with milk 
and food convenient for them, until they grow to maturity in 
knowledge and in grace. For this purpose are elders also given, 
that they may co-operate with the under shepherd in guarding 
the flock from all harm, violence and treachery; in leading forth 
the sheep to the pasture ; in tending upon the weak, and sickly, 
and faint; in expelling and keeping away such as are infectious 
and disorderly ; and in paying especial attention to the nurture 
and admonition of the young. For this purpose are deacons 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



19 



also instituted, that while the ministry and the eldership may give 
themselves to the spiritual interests of the people, they may re- 
lieve them, by taking charge of the business of raising all the 
pecuniary resources of the church, making collections for the 
poor and other pious purposes ; distributing these funds accord- 
ing to the necessities of the needy and the impoverished ; and 
attending generally to the temporal concerns of the church. For 
this purpose are the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper 
given, that by the one children and others may be initiated into 
the privileges and responsibilities of the Christian family ; and 
that by the other all its members may be enriched by Christ with 
all spiritual blessings. For this purpose has Christ instituted 
discipline, that in accordance with our present weak and imper- 
fect state, the mistakes of his officers may be corrected, difficul- 
ties obviated, unfruitful trees trimmed and digged about, the un- 
ruly and disobedient warned, the backslider restored, and the 
apostate or open sinner visited with that sentence which will be 
a precursor of his future destiny. For this purpose is every 
member of the church individually and relatively of importance 
to its interests, and their hearty co-operation necessary to the 
prosperity and efficiency of the body. Ministers are like the 
head from which proceeds that stimulus, guidance, and direction, 
which are essential to the vitality, the activity, the dignity, and 
the harmony of the system. Ruling elders are like the joints, 
sinews, and nerves, which conduct the vitalizing influence of 
the brain to the extremities ; bind together every separate limb; 
and thus give unity, efficiency and energy, to the entire frame. 
And the various members of the church resemble the lungs, the 
heart, the digestive organs, the hands, and the feet, by whose co- 
operation and harmonious play, the whole man is consecrated to 
God, in body, soul, and spirit ; a living sacrifice, holy and accepta- 
ble unto him. It is therefore evidently upon the combined union, 
love, harmony and co-operation of each and all of these, that the 
prosperity of any church depends. Life, and even partial 
strength, may co-exist with the absence or weakness of any one 
member ; but health, vigor, activity, and consequent success im- 
ply and require the existence and hearty consecration of all 
to the advancement of one common end. Deficiency in any one 
member begets weakness and inefficiency in all, and acts like 



20 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



a drain upon the energy of the body, and a drag-weight clogging 
and hindering its progress. 

Thus have we found it in our sad experience as a church. 1 
We have been like the loose and separate limbs, joints, and 
sinews, of a dismembered frame — every one looking to his own 
interests, and none regarding the prosperity of the body as the 
subject of his own individual solicitude and responsibility. — 
Could we, my brethren, imagine all the several stones and tim- 
bers, which, compacted together, form this building, every one 
to exist in insolated separation from the rest, instead of being 
firmly held together by that which every one supplieth, then 
might we have a representation of the disadvantages under 
which, as a church, we have hitherto labored. As your minister, 
I have endeavored to instruct, to warn, to correct, to improve, 
and thoroughly to furnish you for every good word and work ; 
giving to every man, whether a professor of religion or otherwise, 
his portion in due season, without fear or favor, partiality or 
hypocrisy. But when the incorruptible seed of divine truth has 
been thus sown in your hearts, where have been the co-workers to 
go about the vineyard, and by their co-operating efforts, to cover 
that which was exposed to the birds of the air ; to plant still 
deeper that which had only fallen upon the surface ; to foster that 
which had taken root ; and to water that which, after it had 
sprung up, was withering for want of the genial and fertilizing 
rain ? How much strength has thus been spent in vain, and how 
much labor has thus been given for nought ! How much seed of 
the word has been lost; how many germinating plants have been 
killed by untimely exposure and neglect ; and how many flourish- 
ing and healthy plants have been allowed to fade and die through 
utter negligence. When little difficulties and misconceptions 
have arisen, where have been the peace-makers, eager to obtain 
the promised blessing of heaven, who have removed misappre- 
hension, satisfied doubts, soothed irritated sensibility, and hush- 
ed the first breathing of anger, dissatisfaction and discord ! 
When temporal straits or embarrassments have come suddenly 
upon others, and overwhelmed their minds with gloomy pertur- 

1 This picture may apply to too many churches, and is therefore retained as 
delivered. 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



2L 



bation, where have been those friends in need who are as ready 
to weep with those that weep, as to rejoice with those that rejoice ; 
and thus to nerve and cheer the heart which would otherwise 
shrink and tremble before the biting blast ! And when any 
sheep of the flock has begun to wander from the fold, to neglect 
the green pastures of its own fertile vale, and to drink from 
strange fountains, where have been those watchful shepherds 
who have marked the first wandering footstep, and gently wooed 
it back to its own spiritual home ? Where have been the daysmen 
to mediate between the pastor and his numerous flock \ to hear 
the plaints or murmurings of both ; and thus to oil the wheels 
which must otherwise drag heavily and with grating sound, so 
that the whole machinery may accomplish its designed results 
noiselessly and with powerful efficiency ? Not that we have had 
no advantage from those who have labored in this field, but that 
through sudden and untimely death, the fewness of their num- 
ber, and other causes, this influence has been, to a great extent, 
lost or unfelt. 

But these difficulties are now, we trust, in some good mea- 
sure to be obviated, by the consecration of those brethren to the 
work and office of the eldership whom you have with so great 
unanimity appointed. 

AN ADDRESS TO RULING ELDERS ; 

Wherein is exhibited the relation of Ruling Elders to the people, to the Minis- 
try, and to the Church at large. 

Christian Brethren, — Allow me, in the name of this 
church and of my brethren in the ministry, to welcome you to 
the honor, the responsibility, and the labors of the office of Rul- 
ing Elder. The nature, end, and object, for which this office 
has been instituted in the church you have already heard. It 
stands in a threefold relation ; first, to the people ; secondly, to 
the pastor ; and thirdly, to the church at large. 

Your primary relation is to the members of the 
•church. Of these you are the representatives. From their num- 
ber, and by their free votes, you have been called to this honor- 
able office. To you they have delegated in a great measure, 



22 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



the exercise of their ultimate rights, in the government and dis- 
cipline of the Church. You are, therefore, truly their repre- 
sentatives, and are responsible to them, and to Him who is 
their and your common Lord, for the manner in which you dis- 
charge your functions. For it is provided in our Form of Gov- 
ernment, (chap. xiii. § vi.) that an elder may not only become 
incapable of performing the duties of his office, by age or infirm- 
ity, but may also become unacceptable in his official character 
to a majority of the congregation to which he belongs, though 
not chargeable with either heresy or immorality ; and that, in 
such a case, the members of the church may request, or if neces- 
sary require, him to " cease to be an active elder." You will, 
therefore, pay all due regard to your spiritual constituents, by 
whom, in accordance with the example of Apostolic Christians, 
and the practice of the primitive and reformed churches, you 
have been so honorably elected to office. Ever cherish the re- 
membrance of this relation which you sustain towards them, 
and the correspondent obligations under which it lays you to 
seek their best spiritual and Christian welfare. They have giv- 
en you the highest possible testimony that they have confidence 
in you as Christian men, and that they esteem you very highly 
in love. Reciprocate these feelings in your conduct towards 
them. Be kindly affectioned towards them. Make their ac- 
quaintance. Visit them in their houses. Cultivate kind and 
friendly dispositions. Let them feel that you take an interest in 
them ; in their children ; and in all their spiritual troubles. 
Give them your advice, when it is desired, in reference to any 
worldly matter which may perplex or trouble their minds. Espe- 
cially regard the young members of these families, and by your 
interest in their education, prospects and happiness, endeavor to 
secure their affection for the church of their fathers ; and their 
hearts and lives and services for the cause of Christ, in the morn- 
ing of their days. Be present, as far as practicable, at all their 
meetings, both on the Sabbath and in the week ; and let no- 
thing short of necessity satisfy you as an excuse for forsaking 
the assembling of yourselves in their meetings for prayer as well * 
as for more public worship. Frequently visit the Sabbath 
School, if you can do no more, and let every meeting for the im- 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



23 



provement of the young have peculiar claims on your attention 
and presence. If possible, be ready to offer prayer when neces- 
sary or desirable, by the bedside of the sick, the sorrowful, and 
the dying ; or whenever and wherever you may be desired ; and 
be ready also to give a reason to every man that asketh you of 
the hope that is in you ; to counsel the ungodly ; or to direct 
the awakened and inquiring sinner. 

Remember, however, that while you are the representatives 
of the people, you represent not their wishes and opinions, but 
their duties and obligations, their rights and privileges, 
as these are laid down in those heavenly laws to which you and 
they are both alike subject, and which no power on earth can 
either alter, modify, abridge, or enlarge. Cherish therefore, ex- 
alted views of your spiritual independence and authority. 
You are officers of Christ, and in his kingdom ; and within this 
jurisdiction no laws of man, and no whims, caprice, or passions 
of men, have any right to enter. Your instructions come not 
from man, but from Him to whom the highest among the sons 
of men are subject, whose will is the law of the universe, and 
whose word is the exposition of his will respecting the inhabit- 
ants of this lower world. 1 Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty 
wherewith Christ hath made you free, and be brought into bond- 
age by no undue regard either to the favor or the frowns of men. 
Be ye wise as serpents ; so as to avoid giving any offence either 
by pride, or sycophancy ; by harshness or indifference ; by se- 
verity or laxity of discipline. Be very scrupulous and conscien- 
tious in discovering the path of duty ; and as fearless in pursu- 
ing it, whether men will praise or whether they will condemn. 
Seek not popularity at the expense of fidelity ; nor provoke jeal- 
ousy and displeasure through any vain and wanton assumption 
of a reckless bluntness and harshness, either of manner or ot 
speech. And remember that to your own Master you stand or 
fall, and that accordingly as you commend yourselves to His 
approval, will you be either condemned or rewarded, whatever 
may be the opinion of men. 

So much for your relation to the members of the church. 

J See the Divine Right of Church Government, page 270. 



24 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



But you stand also related to its bishop or pastor. For 
you are " the representatives of the people, chosen by them for the 
purpose of exercising government and discipline in conjunction 
with the pastor." The grand, primary, and characteristic office 
of the bishop is authoritatively to teach whatsoever Christ has 
commanded. But as the highest office includes the less, and 
implies the authority necessary to discharge all its functions, so 
does the ministry include not only the function of teaching, but 
also the office of ruling ; not only what pertains to the office 
of the bishop, but also what pertains to the office of the 
elder and the deacon ; and not only what relates to the spiritual 
interests of the church, but also to the general superintendence 
of the temporal affairs, and whatever concerns the welfare of the 
church. But in order that the bishops of the Church might give 
themselves supremely to the ministry of the word and to prayer, 
these other offices were created in order to aid and assist them 
in these several spheres ; the elders in all that relates to the spir- 
itual government of the church, and the deacons in all that has 
regard to the temporal interests of the congregation. And 
hence in the Reformed churches, in the Scotch church formerly, 
(and in the Free church of Scotland now,) there existed in every 
church, not only a spiritual court called the Session, but also 
what is called the Deacon's Court, composed of the pastor, el- 
ders, and deacons. So that while the pastor was recognized as 
head of the church in all its relations, the elders represented the 
interests of the people in the same various aspects ; while the 
deacons after receiving counsel from both, carried out the com- 
mon views of the whole body in all that pertained to the poor, 
and the outward expenditures of the church. 

Such, then, is another aspect, my dear brethren, of your high 
calling. Your office is second in dignity and importance only 
to that of the bishopric ; and you are associated with the pastor 
in taking the entire oversight of the flock " over which the Holy 
Ghost has appointed you." Much of the authority and power 
of your office has, by an evil and disastrous custom, fallen into 
other hands, or is no longer exercised at all ; but it is not the 
less — but the more — necessary to bring forward their nature 
and their claims, that, with the reviving spirit of Presbyterianism, 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER, 



25 



the office of ruling elder may be generally restored to its true 
elevation, and to the exercise of all its functions. The great object, 
therefore, of your office, so far as it respects the congregation over 
which you preside, is to constitute, with the pastor or bishop, a 
spiritual court for all matters of government and discipline ; a 
common council by whom all its interests may be guarded and 
advanced: and a body of assistants and co-workers by whom 
the labors of one minister may suffice instead of many * his la- 
bors being subdivided and his time principally given to the pul- 
pit, to the visitation of the sick, the inquiring and the spiritually 
distressed ; to the public business of the chur^i ; and to the de- 
fence of the truth, not only in the pulpit but through the press, 
which has become, next to the pulpit, the mightiest instrumen- 
tality either for good or for evil. On you, therefore, must your 
minister lean as his Aarons and Hurs when wearied and faint. 
To you must he seek for counsel in times of perplexity and 
doubt. In you must he find strength and influence in carrying 
out the discipline of the church, and enforcing the obligations of 
Christian discipleship. To you must he especially look for an 

EXAMPLE OF CONSISTENCY AND DEVOTED NESS BOTH AS HEAR- 
ERS and doers of the Word, both in your personal walk and 
conversation ; in the Christian regulation of your families; and 
in your willing and ready co-operation, to the utmost of your 
ability, in every cause of benevolence and Christian charity. 
This leads me to remind you, that by the constitution of our 

Church YOU BEAR ALSO AN IMPORTANT RELATION TO THE CHURCH 

at large. For as the representatives of the people you are 
entitled to sit as delegates in all our ecclesiastical courts, and 
there to deliberate, speak, and vote, on all matters that can come 
before the body, and also to carry into execution all their deter- 
minations, except where they imply functions peculiar to the 
office of the ministry, such as presiding in any court, preaching, 
administering sacraments, ordaining, or pronouncing sen- 
tence of suspension, and final excommunication. In this way, 
the popular character of the church is effectually secured ; the 
rights and liberties of Christ's elect people maintained inviolate; 
the encroachments of a spiritual hierarchy and priestly despo- 
tism checked ; and the free, public, and open constitution of all 

3 



96 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



our ecclesiastical proceedings perpetuated. The recent history 
of our own church, and that also of our sister churches in Scot- 
land and in Ireland, will prove to you how potent is the influence 
which an enlightened and devoted eldership can exert, in with- 
standing the attacks both of external and internal foes: in arous- 
ing a sleeping church to a due sense of its danger, and to a full 
exercise of its powers ; and in thus lifting up a standard against 
the enemy, when he rushes in like a flood, either in the form of 
heresy, or error, or cold Laodicean formalism, or in Erastian 
conspiracy with the powers of this world to betray into their 
hands the crown and prerogatives of the only King and Head of 
the church. And, in other days too, as you retrace the footsteps 
of the flock, upon the bleak and barren moors, and by the deep 
and secluded valleys, or the midnight gathering by the light of 
lantern or torch under heaven's open canopy, you will find that 
had not the pastors of the church been aided by bold and fear- 
less under-shepherds, they never could have preserved through 
such bloody and fiendish persecutions, and against such fearful 
odds, that little flock whom God has preserved upon the moun- 
tains of Piedmont, in Scotland, in Ireland, and in this wide em- 
pire, and to whom he has yet purposed " to give them the king- 
dom. 5 ' 

To you then, ye elders of the church, are committed the or- 
acles of God. You too are set, like ministers, for the defence 
of the truth, and purity and liberty of the gospel. And upon 
you, in no inconsiderable measure, hangs the destinies of the 
church. Estimate then as you ought, the privilege of occupying 
your place when delegated to it, on the high field of our ecclesi- 
astical legislatures and general assemblies, the exalted councils 
of the church. Be ready to meet every such opening by any 
reasonable sacrifice of time and expense. Interest your hearts 
in all the business and proceedings of the church. Study thor- 
oughly its doctrines, its history, its polity, and its welfare. And 
whenever the war-cry of danger is heard upon its borders, be ye 
ready to come up as standard-bearers of the cross to the help of 
the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. 

And let this cheer and encourage you, brethren, in this ar- 
duous, self-denying, but glorious labor, that He who has called 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



27 



you to the work will also fit, qualify and inspirit you for its dis- 
charge; be present with you in every emergency ; guide and di- 
rect you in all time of perplexity : make you bold as lions, and 
harmless even as doves ; give you a heart to love him, and a 
tongue to pray for and to praise him ; fill you with joy and sat- 
isfaction in discharging your Master's work : and when the day 
of toil is over, and the night of rest is come, recompense you a 
hundred-fold for all your labors, welcome you as good and faith- 
ful servants into the joy of the Lord, and encircle your brow 
with a crown of glory that shall never fade away. 

Neither will he leave you alone and unaided, to undertake 
all the duties involved in this labor of love. He who has over- 
come your reluctance, and silenced your objections, and put it 
into your hearts to enter into the vineyard, and, as He shall ena- 
ble you, labor in its cultivation ; he who stirred up the heart of 
Zerubbabel and others, in his day, will, if we pray to him in 
earnestness and importunity, lead others also to awake from their 
slumbers, and to come forth at the voice of their brethren, say- 
ing, " Here Lord are we, send us. 55 With these encourage- 
ments, therefore, and in this hope and expectation, " be ye there- 
fore, brethren, steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the 
work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor will 
not be in vain in the Lord." 

ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS OF TELE CHURCH, 
Showing their duty to the Ruling Eiders. 

And now, Christian friends, the members of the church, I 
turn myself, in closing, to you. You have heard the nature, ends 
and duties of the office of ruling elder expounded in your hear- 
ing ; vou have heard these brethren solemnly devote themselves 
to this high and holy calling, and promise and covenant, as God 
shall give them ability, faithfully to attempt the discharge of its 
high functions: and having freely elected these your brethren, 
and thus constituted them your spiritual delegates and represen- 
tatives, you have now as solemnly promised with uplifted hands, 
" to acknowledge and receive them as your ruling elders/' and 



28 



OF THE CHURCH OP CHRIST, 



to yield them all that " honor, encouragement, and obedience, " 
in the Lord, to which their office, according to the word of God, 
the constitution of our church, and the very nature of the rela- 
tion itself, entitles them. 

You are to give them honor. This Christianity requires. 
It dignifies every office, whether in the state or in the church, 
in the household or in society ; and it requires its disciples to 
render to every man that honor which is his due. " Let every 
soul," is its voice, <c be subject unto the higher powers, for there 
is no power but of God, the powers that be, having been insti- 
tuted by God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, re- 
sisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive 
to themselves condemnation. Wherefore, ye must needs be sub- 
ject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. Render, 
therefore, to ail their dues, and honor to whom honor is due." 
This rule is universal, but in reference to spiritual office, re- 
ceives the sanction of solemn and superadded claims. " Obey/' 
says God to Christians, " them that have the rule over you, and 
submit yourselves ; for they watch for your souls," and your 
spiritual and everlasting interests, " as they that must give ac- 
count," and this you are to do, " that they may give this account 
with joy and not with grief, for this," adds the Apostle, " would 
be as unprofitable for you as it would be distressing to them," 
It is therefore as true in religion as in the family, in every social 
association, and in the state, that by honoring those that are in 
authority we honor ourselves, and secure our own good. For 
as they stand as our representatives, and as the visible types and 
exponents of our character and laws — by honoring them we dig- 
nify those laws, give them weight and authority and power ; 
carry them out into efficient and universal operation, and thus 
secure their beneficial results in the elevation of our own char- 
acter, and that of our country, family, society, or church ; and 
in the peace, harmony, integrity, and happiness, which will be 
thus promoted. 

Give to your elders, therefore, the honor which is their due. 
Hold their persons, — because you hold their office, — in reverence. 
Treat them with that deference and submission which will show 
your high estimate of those spiritual functions which they sus- 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



29 



tain, as office-bearers in the holiest and most exalted so- 
ciety which exists among men. In honor prefer them above 
others, and esteem them very highly. Consider them through 
the light thrown over them by the office to which you yourselves 
have elevated them. Cultivate, therefore, towards them in your 
own minds, and in the minds of your children, the feelings of 
love and respect, and ever treat them with a correspondent defer- 
ence and regard. Thus will you exalt their office; elevate your 
own conceptions of the dignity of your Christian citizenship ; 
and ennoble the character of our common Christianity. 

But you are not only to give them honor, but encour- 
agement also. You are well aware how reluctantly these 
brethren have yielded to your and my solicitations to accept of 
this appointment and to enter upon this office. There is not 
one of them, — I bear them record, — who dees not shrink from 
the undertaking, and enter upon it with fear and trembling, and 
in much conscious weakness. There is not one of them who 
would not gladly have remained in the ranks of private citizen- 
ship. But they have yielded as much to your importunity as to 
the sense of duty, and they now throw themselves, (and they are 
well entitled to it,) upon your most kind and hearty encourage- 
ment. 

And how can you encourage them ? You can do this, first, 
and above all other ways, by constantly commending them to 
Him who can give them courage, who can take away their fear- 
ful and timid hearts, and give them great boldness and confi- 
dence through the strength and power of his almighty grace. 
You can do this by giving, in your kind and respectful treat- 
ment, in your willing co-operation, and in your readiness to 
overlook any deficiencies, increased confidence of success and 
greater zeal in aiming at higher attainments. And by your 
Christian humility, consistency, and growth in holiness ; and 
your steadfast attendance upon every means of grace, you can 
inspire them with courage, spirit, and strength of mind. You 
can, in these and other ways, by your union and co-operation, 
your concurrence in their decisions, and your support when op- 
position would be made against the enforcements of the truth 
and order of God's house, embolden and animate their hearts, 
•nd inspirit them to go forward with untiring zeal, 



30 



OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, 



And should any of you differ in opinion from the plans they 
may recommend, or the judgments they may decree, remember 
that they are set over you in the Lord, and that unless they 
have acted clearly contrary to the divine law, or delivered an 
opinion in opposition to the mind of Christ, or adopted a course 
of policy derogatory to the heavenly institute; you are under 
obligation to submit, and not to embroil the peace and harmony 
of the church by contending for your private interpretations and 
your personal preferences. And should any of you, which may 
God forbid, ever become the subjects of their righteous condem- 
nation, either on the ground of heresy or immorality, or swearing, 
or Sabbath-breaking, or neglect of the worship and ordinances of 
the church, or failure to observe family and secret worship, or 
penurious and covetous refusal to give of your substance and ac- 
cording to your ability, to the cause of Christ, or for any other 
sufficient reason — I charge you to remember that it will 
re at your peril to resist and disobey. For they bear not 
rule in vain. The sword of spiritual authority has been freely 
and lawfully put into their hands, and they will, and cannot but 
be " a terror to evil-doers.'* For just so far as they carry out 
the laws of Christ, they are sustained by the power and author- 
ity of Christ, so that " what they bind on earth shall be bound in 
heaven, and whomsoever they condemn on earth shall be con- 
demned in heaven." They are the ministers of Christ. They act 
in his name. They enforce his laws. They pronounce sentence 
according to his immutable decrees. And in doing so he is with 
them, and he will fully sustain them. And unless the condemned 
violator of Christ's law shall humble his soul in penitence and 
sorrow, and shall turn from his evil and wicked way, Christ will 
frown upon him, and write bitter things against him ; and if he 
continue obstinate and obdurate, will finally smite him with his 
iron sceptre, and dash him in pieces like a potter's vessel. But 
rather, O thou divine Redeemer, so work in the hearts and minds 
of this people, that they shall ever serve thee in uprightness and 
sincerity all the days of their life, " until we all come in the unity 
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a 
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of 
Christ ; that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and 



AND THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



31 



fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight 
of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to de- 
ceive ; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in 
all things, which is the head, even Christ ; from whom the whole 
body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every 
joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure 
of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of 
itself in love." 



CHAPTER II. 



In which it is shown that in Scripture the term Presbyter is always applied to 
the Preacher, and not to the Ruling Elder ; with an examination of 1 Tim- 
othy 5 : 17. 

It is unquestionably true, as has been already shown, that 
there is both principle and precedent in Scripture to warrant the 
election, by every church, of representatives of the people, to act 
with the bishop or pastor in conducting the government and dis- 
cipline of the church. We found that such officers sat with the 
apos les and presbyters in the councils of the church as delegat- 
ed commissioners, under the title of " the brethren/' (Acts 
1 : 15-26, 6 : 1-6, and 15,') — and they may also very probably 
be referred to in other passages. 2 

1 In none of these cases can we suppose that all the Christians were pres- 
ent, for Christ we know appeared to five hundred brethren, and at the time of 
the council at Jerusalem there were about 8,000 believers. These brethren, 
therefore, represented all, and acted in their name. See Neander's Hist, of 
the Chr. Rel. and Ch. vol. 1, p. 205, and note, English edition. 

2 E. g. 1 Cor. 12: 28, Rom. 12: 8, and Matt. 18: 15-17. That the word 
church here means an assembly of rulers meeting together in one ecclesiastical 
judicatory, see largely proved in Dr. Ayton's Orig. Constit. of the Church, ch. 
ii. § 3, pp. 63, 64. Cartwright's Confut. of the Rhemists on Matt. 18 : 15-17. 
In the Form of Gov't of the Waldenses, this passage is rendered, " tell to the 
guides whereby the church is ruled." Dr. Miller on Eldership, p. 108, Am. ed. 
Coleman's Primitive Church, pp. 62, 63. Brown's Diet, of the Bible, Art. 
Church. Livingstone's Theology, p. 251. Rutherforo^s Due Right of Presby- 
teries, &c. 4to. London, 1644, at pp. 309, 314, 322, 489-491. See alsof pp. 
316, 348. See also his Plea for Paul's Presbyterie, 4to. London, 1642, p. 85, 
&c. Gillespie's Aaron's Rod Blossoming, 4to. London, 1646. pp. 294-297, 
and 350-467. See further Jus Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici. by the Lon- 
don ministers, 4to. London, 1654, p. 208, &c. See also many authorities pro- 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 33 



That such a class of officers were also recognized in the 
primitive church, and by many of the fathers, cannot, we think, 
be doubted by any impartial reader, and has been often satisfac- 
torily proved. 1 And that the churches very early adopted the 
plan of having such representatives of the people, is rendered 
still more certain by the existence of such officers among the 
Waldenses and the Syrian Christians. 

Thus far we agree in opinion with the standard authorities of 
our church, in believing in the scriptural character and 
claims of such officers in the church. But in regard to the ap- 
plication of the term presbyter in Scripture and in the fathers 
to the ruling elder, we are obliged to dissent from the commonly 
received opinions. We are still persuaded that both in Scripture 
and in the fathers the term presbyter is confined to the teach- 
ers or bishops of the church. 

That such is the case in Scripture, we infer from the fact 
that the word presbyter is there used synonymously with the 
term bishop, as is now admitted by all writers, both prelatical 
and Presbyterian. 2 Now the. .characteristic function and duty of 
the bishop, as laid down in Scripture, is, the preaching of the 
gospel and the instruction of the Christian people. 3 This indeed 
has been most strangely questioned, but in manifest contradiction 
to the express and pointed declaration of the Word of God. No 
words can be used by which the office of public teaching could 
be more clearly defined, than are found in those several pas- 
sages, in which the terms presbyter and bishop are interchange- 
ably employed. 4 Such also was the duty imposed by the Apos- 

duced in Paget's Def. of Pres. Ch. Gov't. London, 1641, pp. 50, 51. See also 
the~author's Ecclesiastical Catechism, p. 8, &c. Burnet on the XXXIX Art. 
p. 281. 

1 See Dr. Miller's work on the Ruling Elders, and also his Letters on the 
Christian Ministry, and all the works on Presbyterianism. 

2 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 108, &c. * 

3 See 1 Tim. 3 : 1-8, Titus 1 : 5-9, and 1 Peter 5 : 1-5, and 1 Tim. 5 : 
17, and Vitringa, p. 484. 

4 Neander in his Preface to Coleman's Primitive Church, p. 16, says, " And 
yet a distinction is also made between these pastors and teachers, inasmuch as 
the qualifications for the outward government of the church, Kv/Sspvrjais, were 
different from those whiah were requisite for the guidance of the church by the 



34 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



tie Paul upon the ministers of Ephesus, whom he in the same 
breath calls both bishops and presbyters. 1 In exhorting the He- 
brew Christians to " remember them that have the rule over 
them," (i. e. their presbyters,) he explains his meaning by add- 
ing, " who have spoken unto you," that is, preached to you, 
" the word of God." 2 This point is to our minds plain and pal- 
pable, for as the great duty enjoined by Christ in his commission 
was the preaching of the gospel ; and presbyters or bishops are, 
as we believe, the only ministers under that commission, it fol- 
lows that preaching is their chief and distinguishing function. 3 
• But if preaching, including the duties of presiding in the 
church, of conducting the public worship of God, of baptizing 
and administering the Lord's Supper, 4 — if these are the work 
and duty of the bishop or presbyter, and are admitted by all par- 
ties not to be the functions of the ruling elder, then the presump- 
tion is very strong against the modern assumption that the terms 
presbyter and bishop are applied in Scripture both to the teachers 
of the church and to a class of officers who did not teach. Nor 
is this presumption weakened by an appeal to the usages of the 
Jewish synagogue ; for while it is true that there were in each 
synagogue a senate, composed of elders or rulers as they were 
called, they were not ordained with imposition of hands, 5 whereas 

preaching of the word, SiSaaKaXia. The first belonged especially to the pres 
byters or bishops who stood at the head of the organization for the outward 
government of the church. Certain it is, at least, that they did not all possess 
the gift of teaching as 6idaaxa\oi 3 teachers." 

1 See Acts 20: 28-31. 

2 Hebrews 13 : 7, 17. 

3 See full on this jpoint in the author's work on Presbytery and Prelacy, ch. 
v., and also ch. iv., and in the Divine Right of the Gospel Ministry, by the 
London Ministers. 

4 See do. do. ch. v. 

5 Lighlfoot (Works, vol. viii. pp. 459, 460) says : — " The ordaining of the 
elders and beheading the heifer, is by the three." In this thing, therefore, this 
present action agreeth with the common usage of the Synagogue, — that three 
persons, Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen, lay their hands on two, that were to be 
sent out, — Paul and Barnabas. But in that they lay on their hands, they do, 
also, recede from the usual custom. " After what manner is the ordaining of 
elders ; for ever ? Not that they should lay their hands upon the head of an 
elder, but only should call him < Rabbi,' and say to him, « Behold thou art or- 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



35 



the public teachers and preachers of the synagogue were not al- 
lowed to enter upon their work until they were ordained to that par- 
ticular function, 1 — they were more commonly called " the seniors 

dained, and thou hast power of judging,' &c. Laying on of hands in the ordi- 
nation of elders was hardly used at all, either under the first temple, or before 
or under the second temple. It was not under the second temple, if we may 
believe the Rabbin newly quoted ; or at least, if it was used, it was abolished 
at last. And before the second temple, where is there any sign or footstep of 
such a thing V 

Vitringa, it is true, is of opinion that Lightfoot had inferred more from the 
words of Maimonides than is becoming, (1) and he therefore thinks, both from 
him and other Jewish authorities which he quotes, that there were two methods 
of induction into office, one by imposition of hands together with the words 
" ecce tu es promotus" — " and now behold, be thou promoted," — and another 
in which the words alone, without any imposition of hands, took place. This 
he substantiates from the Gemara, when it is asked, " whether ordination is 
performed with the hand only 1 He replies, not so, but with the declaration 
also." And Tacutheus is quoted, saying, " But ordination is not performed 
with the hands only, but also by pronouncing the words only (sed etiam ser- 
mone solo)." (2) Witsius is of opinion that the ordination of the electors 
(electorum) was by imposition of hands, and that this was different from 
that by which the senior (senior) was created. (3) And with this opinion 
Vitringa on the whole agrees. (4) He adds, "Perhaps we may conclude this 
much, that while the affairs of the Hebrews flourished in Canaan, the presi- 
dents and ministers of the Synagogue who depended for their support upon the 
Synagogue, were confirmed in their office by imposition of hands ."(5) In 
short, only those who are called presbyters, Rabbi or Doctor, were ordained."(6) 

1 Speaking of their " preachers," Lightfoot says, (Works, vol. 5. pp. 121, 
122,) " Now none of these prementioned were admitted to this public employ- 
ment of teaching and preaching, but he was first ordained, and had ordination, 
as a state-call and commission to that office." 

" And they used to ordain men to particular employment in the public 
administration : and they might not go beyond that particular to which they 
were ordained." 

" ' They have power (saith Maimonides) to'appoint whom they will to par- 

(1) Petrus Cunseus in his De Repub. Hebr. cap. 12, however, takes the same view as 
Lightfoot, and is quoted with approbation by the London ministers in the Divine Right of the 
Gospel Ministry, Part 1, pp. 184, 185. 

(2) De Vet. Synag. pp. 837, 838. 

(3) Miscell. Sacr. Lib. ii. Dissert iii § 46. De Heb. Synag. 

(4) Ibid. p. 838. (5) Ibid. p. 839. 

(6) Bernard's Synagogue of the Church, pp. 85, 86, 169, 183, and Whately's Origin of 
Romish Errors, p. 107, ch. ii. §5. 



36 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



and senators of the tribes/' 1 — and the officer whose duty and 
privilege it was to preside in the synagague, and either to preach 
himself or to appoint those who should, was denominated 
" bishop" or (f overseer/' 2 and was required to be a doctor, and 

ticular matters. As, for example, there was an exceeding great wise man, 
that was fit to teach all the law, every whit ; it was in the power of the San- 
hedrim to ordain him, so as that he might not judge, or that he might not teach 
about bound and loose ; or they might give him license to teach about bound 
and loose, but not to judge in matters of money ; or they gave him power 
to judge in this matter, but not to judge in matters of damage/ &c. Thus 
curious and circumspect they were in and about the matter of ordination, and 
concerning a lawful and authoritative designation of public teachers and judges 
to their peculiar and particular employment in the public, to fix them within 
their compass and line, and that every one might not intrude upon what minis- 
terial or magisterial ministration he would. And, therefore, it was far from 
being a common use, or from being any use at all, among the Jews in their 
church, to let any mechanical, or uncalled and unordained men, to step up into 
the doctor's chair, or minister's pulpit, to read divinity publicly, or to preach in 
their synagogues, — as impudency or folly would put them forward on it ; but 
they had a solemn state-call or dimission into such employments, by a lawful 
ordination by men themselves ordained. 

" But if any man came in the spirit of a prophet, and took on him to preach 
under that notion, he found permittance under that notion : yet was there not 
immunity and liberty for any whosoever to become preacher upon that term, 
and so to continue, but the Sanhedrim was to judge concerning false prophets ; 
and he that was not a prophet, and yet would be preaching as a prophet, did 
it at his own peril. This, then, was that that procured our Saviour liberty to 
preach, and audience to his preaching, in every synagogue where he came ; 
because he came not only in the name, but also in the visible power and dem- 
onstration of a prophet, doing such wondrous signs and miracles, as that his 
prophetic call could not be denied, but he was glorified of all." 

1 See Lightfoot's Works, vol. viii. p. 72, and vol. iii. p. 242. 

2 Thus Benjamin of Tudela, speaking of the city of Ispahan, says, (see Vi- 
tringa, de Synagog. Vet. lib. ii. cap. iii., and lib. i. cap. xi.,and Bernard's Syna- 
gogue and the Church, pp. 146, 147, and p. 197, and especially pp. 101, 102,) 
"where there were fifteen thousand Jews, that excellent Doctor Sarschalon, 
who is the bishop, lives there." Speaking of another city, he says, " In it are 
fifty thousand Jews, and Rabbi Obadiah is their bishop. The same name is 
given to the pastors of the modern Synagogue." 

f< Besides these," says Lightfoot, " there was the public minister of the Syna- 
gogue, who prayed publicly, and took care about the reading of the law, and 
sometimes preached, if there were not some other to discharge this office. This 
person was called e the Angel of the Church,' and ' The Chazan or bishop of the 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



3? 



one who had ministered unto a doctor, before he could become 
eligible to the office. 1 It is thus apparent, first, that the senators 
in the Jewish synagogue were not preachers or teachers, though 
like many other individuals they might be called upon to speak 
unto the people ; secondly, that the preacher was exclusively de- 
nominated over&er, angel, and bishop, although as a ruler he was 
at the same time an elder, the greater including the less ; and 
thirdly, that imposition of hands was confined to the overseers 
and bishops of the synagogue. 2 The presumption, therefore, 
which exists against that interpretation of the terms presbyter 
and bishop in the New Testament, which makes them applicable 
to the mere " ruling elder]'' or representative of the people, re- 
mains in all its force, if it is not greatly strengthened by an appeal 
to the government of the synagogue. 

And hence Vitringa is led to exclaim, in alluding to the 
supposition we are controverting, in the light of his most learned 
and thorough investigation into the constitution of the Jewish 
synagogue : " And can any one then dare seriously to assert 

Congregation.' The Aruch gives the reason of the name. The Chazan (says 
he) is the Angef of the Church, (or the public minister.) and the Targum ren- 
ders the word njCTl by the word rrr, one that oversees ; for it is incumbent on 
him to oversee, how the reader reads, and whom he may call out to read in the 
law." The public minister of the synagogue himself read not the law publicly ; 
but every Sabbath he called out seven of the synagogue (on other days, fewer) 
whom he judged fit to read. He stood by him that read, with great care ob- 
serving that he read nothing either falsely or improperly, — and calling him back 
and correcting him if he had failed in any thing. And hence he was called "jaSh 
that is e-icKo-og, or ' Overseer.' Certainly the signification of the word ' Bish- 
op,' or f Angel of the Church,' had been determined with less noise, if recourse 
had been made to the upper fountains, — and men had not vainly disputed about 
the signification of words, taken I know not whence. The service and worship 
of the temple being abolished as being ceremonial, God transplanted the wor- 
ship and public adoration of God used in the Synagogues, which was moral, 
into the Christian Church, — to wit, the public ministry, public prayers, reading 
God's word, and preaching, &c. Hence the names of the Ministers of the 
Gospel were the very same, — 1 the Angel of the Church,' and ' the Bishop/ — 
which belonged to the Ministers in the Synagogues." — (Lightfoot's Works, vol. 
ii. pp. 88, 89, and Bernard's Synagogue, ch. x.) 
1 See Vitringa and Bernard as above. 

* See do. do. lib. i. cap. ix. and Bernard's Synagogue, p. 84, and o. 58. 



38 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



and to defend the position, that to these lay elders the name of 
bishop or the name of pastor can be appropriated? And if no 
one can so dare, then the question is settled concerning them, 
since no other presbyters are acknowledged or constituted in the 
church by the apostles, except those who are at the same time 
pastors and bishops. " "It is therefore," he concludes, " cer- 
tain and indubitable that the term presbyters, in the writings of 
the Apostles, means one and the same thing with pastors and 
bishops." 1 

This presumption is further confirmed by the fact, that in all 
the passages of Scripture in which the term presbyter occurs, 
(omitting for the present the disputed passage in 1 Timothy 5 : 
17,) it evidently refers to the principal, and in many cases to the 
only officer at that time appointed in the infant churches, 2 which 
must of course refer to the preacher rather than to the mere ruler 
of the people. (Acts 14: 23. Phil. 1:1. Titus 1 : 5-9, &c.) 
The only objection of any force to this position, is that on which 
Dr. Miller seems mainly to rely, namely, that this view of the 
meaning of this term would imply the existence of a plurality of 
teachers in connection with one church. But this, instead of 
being an objection, is, on the contrary, an argument in favor of 
our interpretation ; for that such really was the fact cannot be 
questioned. In the Synagogue the general rule was that there 
should be a plurality of the chief rulers or bishops, and the ex- 
ception to this rule was the existence of only one. 3 That such 
was the case in the time of our Saviour is most certain. We 
have evidence that there were many rulers in the one Synagogue 
who of course formed a council. Thus the Evangelist Luke, 
speaking of St. Paul and his companions, says, " they came to 
Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath 

1 De Synag. Vet. pp. 484, 485. And if any one can judge on this point, 
surely Vitringa with his disposition to sustain ruling elders, (see page 484,) 
and his immense learning, both in Jewish and patristical lore, was the man. 

2 It deserves, however, to be remarked, tnat there does not appear to have 
been any ruling elders in the church session of Antioch." Bib. Repert. 1843, 
p. 3*27. See also Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 174, &c. and Phil. 1:1. 

3 See proofs of this given from Jewish writers in Vitringa, lib. i, cap. vi., 
and p. 874, and Bernard, pp. 56-58. There were always two in each Synagogue 
who could teach, &c. — Lightfoot, vol v. p. 119. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



39 



day, and sat down; and after the reading of the law and the 
prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them." Now 
these rulers, as far as we can judge from the context, were equal 
in rank, dignity, and office, and constituted, most probably, the 
presbytery of the synagogue of Antioch. In another chapter the 
same Evangelist mentions by name two of the rulers of the syna- 
gogue at Corinth, viz. Crispus and Sosthenes. The Evangelist 
Mark informs us that Jairus was one of the rulers of the syna- 
gogue at Capernaum. The New Testament, then, confirms our 
view of the government of the synagogue ; and though we meet 
with passages in which but the one ruler is mentioned, still this 
does not subvert our position ; the government of the synagogue 
being sometimes confided to one Rabbi. 1 

That such was the case in the apostolic churches also, there is 
abundant evidence to prove. The church at Jerusalem was gov- 
erned for many years by the college of presbyters constituted by 
the Apostles. 2 There was a plurality of " bishops" in the 
church at Philippi. (Phil. 1 : 1.) There were several teachers 
in the church at Antioch. (Acts 13: 1, &,c.) And that we may 
not delay, there were many bishops in the church at Ephesus. 
(Acts 20.) 

Conformable to this was the practice of the early churches. 
For while in many cases, as in that of Gregory Thaumaturgus, 
whose congregation numbered seventeen persons, there was only 
one bishop, or presbyter, yet generally a plurality did in fact ex- 
ist, and were very necessary, when we consider the circumstan- 
ces of the church at that time, and its relations to the infidel world 
around it. And as to support, we know that all the officers were 
provided for out of a common stock ; that the weekly collections 

1 See Vitringa, p. 874. 

2 Professor Jameson in his " Sum of the Episcopal Controversy," p. 87, 
says, " that as no kirk was subject to another, so no pastor was subject to an- 
other, but that the pastors in every particular kirk were associated into presby- 
teries, and did act in complete parity." " And now," he adds, " there was in 
Jerusalem a fully organized kirk, a kirk enjoying both bishops and deacons, the 
only proper kirkmen, so to speak, and officers of Christ's appointment ;" p. 89, 
he adds, " there were doubtless also, at this time in the kirk diverse grave and 
venerable men, chosen from among the people to represent them, and assist the 
pastors." See also Presbytery and Prelacy, pp. 28, 36, 41. 



40 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



for this purpose were very liberal; that many supported them- 
selves out of their own resources; that many followed in part 
some lucrative employment ; that the presbyters all lived togeth- 
er, with their president ; and that their mode of living was at 
first strictly economical. 

Jerome, speaking of this subject, says : " The smallness of 
their number makes the deacons honorable, the crowd of pres- 
byters makes them contemptible." Eusebius informs us, that 
about the middle of the third century, there were in the church 
of Rome forty-six presbyters, and but seven deacons. And so 
far did the abuse proceed, that the Emperor Justinian found it 
necessary to limit the number of presbyters, permitting no more 
than sixty to be ordained for the church of Constantinople. 

And however this practice was abused, as it undoubtedly was 
in after times, we can easily understand its wisdom and propriety 
in the first age of Christianity. For at that time all were ene- 
mies and none friends to the cause. Danger was therefore im- 
minent, trials manifold, comforts few, and support scanty. By liv- 
ing together, several bishops could constitute a common council, a 
bond of union and of strength, a source of consolation, and an eco- 
nomical household. 1 From these centres of influence they could 
make the word of God to sound forth into all the region round 
about ; and from time to time, as circumstances warranted, they 
could plant other churches and settle other presbyters over them. 
And when any country had become Christianized, and the ne- 
cessity for such concentration was removed, we can as easily 
perceive, how the members of this common council or presbytery 
would be separated and fixed over their respective churches, 
which they would govern in connexion with their respective offi- 
cers. Thus naturally would arise the present form of our free 
presbyteries, the several members living apart but acting in com- 
mon and in stated assemblies ; and thus also do we see how neces- 
sity, as in the case of our missionary brethren, or persecution 
and danger, as in the case of the Reformers, again leads to the 
concentrated form of the original and apostolic presbytery, 

1 The clergy in England continued to live together in communities to a late 
period. See Barnes' Eccl. Law, vol. 3, page 398. And this we know was the 
custom of the Culdees, both in Scotland and in Ireland. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



4! 



These facts are essential to the proper understanding of the 
polity of the New Testament churches, and the manner in which 
prelacy could so insidiously and "by little and little,' 5 as Jerome 
says (paulatim), creep into the church. 1 For just as in the 
Synagogue one of the overseers must necessarily have presided, 
so in the apostolic churches one would be chosen as president 
and stated pastor of the local church, while the others labored as 
missionaries or evangelists in the surrounding country, in the 
same way as we still have our moderators or presidents of pres- 
byteries which have been in some cases made permanent. 2 But 
as the establishment of this point is of great importance to our 
argument, we would here adduce what we have said elsewhere 
upon this point. 

Such is the view given of the apostolic churches by Arch- 
bishop Potter, who allows that there was a college of presbyters 
ordained over the church of Jerusalem, who were plainly con- 
cerned in the care of the church. 3 ' Our fourth proposition/ 
says Grotius, * is this, that this episcopacy is approved by divine 
law, or as Bucer says, it seemed good to the Holy Ghost that 
one among the presbyters should be charged with a peculiar 
care.' 4 

In the absence of the apostles, the presbyters, as we have 
seen, were accustomed to preside in the church at Jerusalem. 5 
The presbyters of the church of Antioch must also have had 
one of their number to act as president when they were assem- 
bled together for the ordination of Barnabas and Saul. 6 Such 
appears to have been the general practice of the churches, in all 
of which, according to the necessity of the case, there were a 
plurality of presbyters, one of their number being elected to 
preside in their councils ; a custom which is still maintained in 
all its original simplicity by Presbyterians. 

1 This point is urged with much force by Vitringa de Syn. Vet. See p. 488, 
474, 864. 

2 See the author's Lectures on the Apostolic Succession, p. 42. 

3 On Ch. Gov't, c. 3, p. 107, Eng. edition. 

4 Sacra, c. 11. 

5 See Lord Harrington's Works, vol. ii. pp. 165, 175. Also Benson on the 
Relig. Worship of the Christians, c. 3, § 2, p. 83. 

6 Acts xiii. 1, &c. See Presbytery, &c. ch. vii. 



42 



SCRIPTURAL YIEV7 OF THE 



A plurality of bishops, presbyters, or governors, says Blon- 
de], existed at one and the same time, in one and the same 
church. He further supposes that these pastors, or bishops, 
were all indued with equal power and honor ; that the eldest 
minister, by virtue of his seniority, was constantly the moder- 
ator among his colleague presbyters; that this moderator was 
subject to the power of the presbytery, and obeyed its com- 
mands, with no less submission than did the meanest of their 
number ; and that while he had chief power in the college, he 
had properly no power over it or independently of it. 1 

That officers of this kind might be expected in the apostolic 
churches would appear from the fact that such chairmen, presi- 
dents, or moderators, are necessary in all assemblies, where 
several have a right to speak, and are therefore constantly ap- 
pointed. There was, we know, such an order of presidents 
among the presbyters who managed, in common, the ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs of the synagogue. 2 These are several times intro- 
duced to our notice in the sacred volume, as presiding in the 
Jewish synagogues, and as giving liberty to preach. 3 And it 
would appear to be very probable, that Peter was president, 
chairman, or speaker in the college of the apostles, 4 and also in 
the church of Jerusalem, in which the twelve apostles acted con- 
jointly, and among whom, until their dispersion, Peter probably 
acted as moderator. 5 

Such officers, therefore, would naturally suggest themselves 
to the apostolic churches, especially as our Saviour had directed 
them to the synagogue for their exemplar. 6 And when we con- 

1 ApoL Praefat, pp. 6, 7, 18, 35. See Jameson's Cyp. Isot. pp. 231, 232, 
vol. ii. pp. 77, 78. See also Goode's Divine Rule of Faith, ch. viii. This 
writer denies that any thing more can be proved from Scripture or from primi- 
tive antiquity. 

2 See this position fully sustained by Vitringa de Vet. Synagog. lib. iii, c. 9, 
p. 727, &c. Reland's Antiq. Jennings' Jewish Antiq. vol. ii. pp. 54, 55, b. 
ii. c. i. Also in Gillespie's Ch. of Scotland, part i. c. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 
9 ; and in a Confut. of I. S. Vind. of the Princ. of the Cypr. Age, p. 151. Bax- 
ter's Treatise on Episcopacy, p. 13, § 19. 

3 Acts 13 : 15 ; Luke 13 : 14 ; Acts 18 : 8 and 17. 

4 Whately's Kingdom of Christ, Essay ii. § 7, p. 72. 

6 Peirce's Vind. of Presb. Ordin. part ii. p. 88, and elsewhere. 
6 Matt. 18. 



OFFICE OF RULIN0 ELDER. 



43 



sider the variety of gifts then enjoyed by the church, and the 
number who would have a consequent right to speak, and how 
much of the edification of the church depended on the order 
with which such persons spoke, judged, prophesied, prayed, sung, 
and exercised their gifts generally, we will understand how 
necessary and useful this office then was in all their meetings. 1 
Such an officer was no less important for the hearing and decid- 
ing of all the controversies about worldly matters which arose 
among the brethren ; to give advice in all difficult cases ; 2 to 
watch over the general order ; to guard against abuses ; to ad- 
monish the faulty ; and to guide the public deliberations. 3 In 
the beginning, therefore, one of the bishops or presbyters pre- 
sided, under the title of proestos senior probatus, &c, that is, 
the president or approved elder. In the second century they 
began to give this officer exclusively the title of bishop, calling 
the other bishops presbyters or elders, to distinguish them 
from the stated president. 4 In this way the Scriptures and the 
primitive fathers are harmonized, and the gradual introduction 
of the doctrine of prelacy is made apparent and easy, the pre- 
late being the chief presbyter, and the other presbyters his 
colleagues. 5 

Allusion appears to be made to such presidents or modera- 
tors, in several passages of the New Testament. They are re- 
ferred to in that passage already considered, where the apostle 
says, ' the spirits of the prophets (that is, says lord Barrington, 
of some of the prophets) are subject to the (other) prophets/ 6 

1 Lord Barrington's Works, vol. i.pp. 85,86. The same view is presented 
by Forbes, in his Irenicum, pp. 242, 243, 245. In Baxter on Episc. p. 70. 

* See Macknight's Com. on 1 Tim. 5: 17, vol. iii. p. 205, where the duties 
of such an officer are fully described. Benson, in his Essay on the Pubiic Wor- 
ship of the Early Christians, very fully establishes the fact of such presiding offi- 
cers. See Paraphrase on St. Paul's Epistles, pp. 117, 119, c. 3, § 1, § 3, and 
§6. 

3 Neander's Hist, of the First Planting of Christianity, vol. i. pp. 169, 170. 

4 See Boyse's Anct. Episcopacy, Pref. p. ix. and Neander's Hist, of the 
First Plant, of Christianity, pp. 169, 170. Also Goode's Div. Rule of Faith, 
vol. ii. p. 77. 

5 Benson on Relig. Worship of Christians, c. iii. § 6, p. 95. 

6 1 Cor. 14: 32. 



44 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



' It is most natural to think the full meaning of this place to be 
that the spirits of the prophets, who prophesied or exhorted, 
were, when duly regulated, subject to the prophets who pre- 
sided. 5 1 Spiritual gifts, as we know, were very generally bestowed 
upon the members of the church of Corinth. 2 Their possess- 
ors, as we are also informed, were apt to put the public assem- 
blies into confusion by their disorderly exercise ; by their strife 
and emulation ; and by all speaking together, and in unknown 
tongues. 3 The apostle, therefore, directs that they should speak 
one by one ; that whilst one spake the others should sit still and 
judge ; and that the spirits of those who were led to exercise 
their gifts, should be subject to those who presided. 

The Thessalonians also enjoyed a large measure of these 
spiritual gifts, 4 and stood in need of the same wise direction. 
We learn, too, that there was a synagogue in Thessalonica, 5 and 
that some of the Jews received the gospel, and united in form- 
ing a Christian church, in connection with a great multitude of 
those Gentiles who had become proselytes of the gate, and wor- 
shippers of the one only and true God. 6 It is also probable, that 
their teachers were converts from Judaism, or, at least, prose- 
lyted Gentiles. But if so, they had been all accustomed to the 
ecclesiastical government of a number of presbyters, with a 
president who moderated their proceedings, and would naturally, 
therefore, adopt this plan as the policy of their church. Some 
of the church, however, appear to have refused to subject them- 
selves to their teachers, and to this plan of discipline, and gave 
themselves up to disorder, and confusion, under the pretence of 
edifying others. The apostle, therefore, beseeches them to 
' know,' reverence, and respect, 4 those that labor among them/ 
as their stated ministers, ' and are over (or preside over) you/ 
that is, says Doddridge, those ' who preside over your assem- 
blies, and moderate in them. 7 In this way, the apostle admon- 
ishes them to 4 be at peace among themselves/ and * to warn 
them that are unruly/ or disorderly, proudly refusing, like sol- 

1 Lord Barrington's Works, p. 84. 3 See the Epistles. 3 1 Cor. c. 14. 

4 Acts 17 : 4 ; 1 Thess. 5 : 19-21 ; Barrington, p. 84. 

5 Acts 18: 1. 6 Acts 17. 
7 In loco. Note. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



45 



diers who will not keep their ranks or know their colors, to con- 
cur with the arrangements of their overseers. The apostle here 
appears to distinguish the presbyters into three classes: 1, 
those who labored, that is, for the extension of the church 
by the conversion of Jews and Gentiles ; 2, those who presided 
or governed in all its domestic services and worship ; and 3, 
those who, while the others presided and governed, were em- 
ployed in the instruction and admonition of the assembled 
Christians. He therefore in effect exhorted them, ' to take care 
that their presbyters be supplied with every necessary, first 
of all those among them who, with all their might, labored 
to propagate the faith of Christ in the country around, and in 
the next place those who governed the church, and admonished 
and instructed them by their voice and example.' 1 

Allusion is probably made to the same office, in the epistle 
to the church at Rome, which was in a great measure composed 
of converted Jews or proselytes, who then swarmed in Rome. 
For in reference to the diversity of spiritual gifts, and the various 
modes of ministry which they occasioned, the apostle says, ' he 
that ruleth let him do it with diligence. 52 The original word 
(rigoidTa^vog) means, unquestionably, ' he who presides/ and 
refers to ecclesiastical office. Some of the presbyters were 
teachers, and others rulers, or presidents, according to their 
gifts. Those that were called to exercise the office of ruler or 
president, were required to do it with attention and zeal. The 
word, which thus plainly refers to ecclesiastical office, and to 
some office of presidency in the church, is as certainly used in 
1 Thess. 5 : 12, and in 1 Tim. 3 : 4, 12, to designate those who 
held the office of teacher. And hence it would appear, that in 
the apostolic churches there were those who held the double of- 
fice of teacher, and governor or president. 3 

A similar allusion is made in 1 Cor. 12 : 28, where the apostle, 
in an enumeration of the same diversified ministers, both extra- 
ordinary and ordinary, speaks of governments (y r v3eg%>r j crEig) as 

1 Mosheim Comment, on the Aff. of Christ, before Constantine, vol. i. pp. 
217, 218, Vidal, 

2 Rom. 12: 8. 3 See Stuart's Comment, in loeo. 



45 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OP THE 



corresponding to those that preside or rule. This word, also, 
means guidance, direction, steering, as in the case of the pilot of 
a ship. Hence, many critics understand it here, as designating 
the office of a ruler or president in the church. Nor can we 
see any strength in the objection urged against this interpreta- 
tion, founded on the low place the office is made to assume, see- 
ing it was but the exercise of the office of teacher, already men- 
tioned, in this particular way of occasional, or stated superintend- 
ence and direction. It is, therefore, purposely classed by the 
apostle among the lowest offices, and such as were mutable, that 
it might not be exalted into a distinct and separate order, or be 
supposed to imply prerogatives superior to those of the teachers 
in general. 1 

The same allusion would appear to be made by the apostle, 
in writing to the Hebrew converts throughout the world, ' Re- 
member them who have the rule over you, (yyovtievovg,) and who 
have spoken unto you the word of God.' ' Obey them that have 
the rule over you, (tolq yyovpevoig,) and submit yourselves, for they 
watch for your souls, as they that must give account. 2 

Pamelius, commentator of Tertullian, in reference to this 
passage in which he says that " certain approved seniors pre- 
side," says : " Those, he says, preside who by all the Greeks are 
called preshyteri, but by us seniors; that is, not all, but those 
who are approved by the testimony of all." 3 

We are now prepared to consider the meaning of that pas- 
sage in 1 Tim. 5 : 17, which is supposed to be decisive of the 
question as to the application to ruling elders of the title of pres- 
byters. 

1 This is the main objection of Stuart, who gives one view in his text, and 
the opposite in an elaborate excursus. Our view of this passage is that taken 
by Mr. Thorndike, who says, " Those of the presbyters who preached not, are 
here called by the apostle governments , and the deacon's helps, or assistants, to 
the government of presbyters ; so that it is not to be translated helps in govern- 
ments, but helps and governments," since " there were two sorts of the presby- 
ter's office in teaching and governing, the one whereof some attained not, even 
in the apostles' times." — Prim. Govt, in Jameson's Cyp. p. 550. 

2 Heb. 13: 1, and 17. 

3 Se»e quoted in loco, and in Jameson's Culdees. 



OFFICE OF RULIN« ELDER. 



47 



" Let the presbyters who rule well," (ngowTwrtg ngzvftvTtgoi,) 
that is, who preside well, directing and managing the public 
worship, and the other interests of the church, " be counted 
worthy of double honor, (or stipend,) especially they who (be- 
sides these duties, continue zealously to) labor in word and doc- 
trine." It here appears that there were two departments in 
which presbyters might render service to the church ; they 
might be especially devoted to the business of teaching and 
preaching, or they might be appointed presidents, (TtgoecrTWTsg.) 
standing over, taking care of, serving and moderating the coun- 
cils of the church ; so that, whilst teaching and preaching, they 
might also in their turn, or when so required, act as presidents 
or moderators. It is thus that Maimonides, in his work on the 
Sanhedrim, describes the bishop of the synagogue, to which the 
apostle here doubtless alludes, as " the presbyter who labored in 
word and doctrine," employing, as it were the very words of the 
apostle, and proving that the same presbyter who taught, might 
also preside or rule. Hence, Neander says, "that while all the 
ministers of the synagogue were called elders, those who presid- 
ed were called, among other names, by this very title of TigosaTarsg. 
Milton also shows, that ngoearaig is nothing else than presiding 
presbyter. 

All presbyters, it is to be observed, were thus officially enti- 
tled to rule or preside, and at first they may have done so alter- 
nately, since they are always spoken of in the plural, until the 
rule was adopted, that the senior presbyter should statedly pre- 
side. But some presbyters were not qualified to teach well, 
though well adapted to preside and take charge of the local 
church, and if found able and faithful in the discharge of this 
duty, they were, says the apostle, worthy of honor. 

The term TigozGTwg, and the kindred words in 1 Thess. 5 : 12, 
and Heb. 13 : 7, 17, are therefore regarded by Gillespie, who 
was a leading member of the Westminster Assembly, as ordinary 
titles of the ordained pastor or minister of the church. 1 And it 
is a further confirmation of this meaning of the word, that the 
term priest, which has never been thought to refer to any officer 

1 Miscellany Questions, ch. ii. § 1 , p. 22. 



48 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



but the ordained minister, 1 " cometh, we know," says Cart- 
wright, 2 " not of sacerdos ; but that it cometh of presbyter, 
for in Greek TigoeaTcog approacheth far nearer unto priest than 
TiQso-ftvTSQog. In Latin the word presses (that may be so called of 
praeest) is much nearer priest than presbyter. And as for the 
French and Italian, considering that they are daughters of the 
Latin tongue, from whence commonly they are derived, it is ap- 
parent that they are rather derived of the words before mentioned, 
which are natural Latin words, than of presbyter, which is Greek 
born, howsoever it is (by use) devised in the Latin tongue." 
"Presbyter and bishop were therefore both of them titles of the 
Christian minister, and in their distinctive meaning applied only 
to them ; the term presbyter being adopted from the Jewish syna- 
gogue, and the term bishop from the Greek language. 3 

All the presbyters here spoken of, were therefore 
teachers, and called to minister in word and doctrine. 
The qualifications necessary for a teacher are, we have seen, 
every where required by this same apostle, of presbyters or bish- 
ops, (1 Tim. 3 : 2, Titus 1 : 9, when he sets himself expli- 
citly and fully to define the office and duties of the presbyter ; 
and therefore we must carry these explicit definitions of the 
office into the interpretation of the present passage. The term 
presbyters here, therefore, must refer to teachers, since we have 
in the previous history heard of no others ; and the fact that all 
are also characterized as those that " rule,' ; is in no way inconsis- 
tent with this view, since we have proved that this function of gov- 
ernment or jurisdiction, as well as that of teaching, belongs to all 

1 In its present acceptation, this word, as synonymous with sacerdos, is 
most dangerous and heretical, since it implies the offering of sacrifice. The 
word ispsvs, of which it is a translation, is never therefore, in the New Tes- 
tament applied to its ministers, but only to the Jewish or Pagan priests. There 
is no priest under the New Testament, except Christ its head, who is a priest 
for ever. See on this subject Cartwright's Confut. of the Rhemists on Acts 
14 : 22, p. 292. See also Whately on Romish Errors, and in many other 
places. 

2 Do. do. 

3 See Presbytery and Prelacy, pp. 37, 109, 110, and Coleman's Primitive 
Church, p. 20. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



49 



the teaching presbyters or bishops. 1 The capacity to teach and 
to rule belongs to all presbyters, and is, we think, attributed 
to all in this passage. And the emphasis and distinction implied 
in the word " especially" must refer not to any distinction of or- 
der or office, but of appointment and labor. Those presbyters 
— whose function it is to teach and to rule — who at the sacri- 
fice of all ease and comfort, and in the face of danger and death, 
go forth among the heathen around, and there "labor'' and 
toil in preaching to such hardened and blaspheming enemies 
" the word and doctrine,"'' these, says the apostle, are " worthy 
of even double honor/' 5 

The sense here given of the verb translated " labor'' has 
been already noticed, and is referred to in a passage of the Apos- 
tolical Constitutions,' 2 where it is taught that " to presbyters 
also, when they labor assiduously in the word and doctrines, let 
a double portion be assigned.*' It is here unquestionably made 
the duty of all the presbyters to preach, but it is to that kind of 
ministerial effort denominated laboring, that double honor is 
to be given. 3 " In no part, whatever, of the New Testa- 
ment,"'' says Mosheim, 4 " is the verb labor made use of, 
either absolutely or conjoined with the words in word and doc- 
trine, to express the ordinary labor of teaching, and instructing 
the people. But I observe that St. Paul, in various places, ap- 
plies this verb, and also the noun, sometimes separately, and at 
other times connected with certain other words, in an especial 
sense, to that kind of labor which he and other holy persons 

1 See Presbytery and Prelacy, B. I. ch. vi. 

2 Lib. ii. ch. xxviii. 

3 There are various allusions in this very section to the fact that presbyters 
were to preach., and also " to offer the eucharist." 

4 Commentary on the Affairs of the Christians, &c. vol^i. pp. 216, 217. See 
also Goode's Divine Rule of Faith., vol. ii. p. 62. Riddle's Christian Antiqui- 
ties, B. Bi. ch. iv. § 2, pp. 231.. '232, 233. See also 231. Lightfoot's Works, 
vol. iii. pp. 253, 259. Yoetius' Politics Eccles. torn. iii. p. 439, &c. JVean- 
der's Hist, of the Planting of Christianity, vol. i. pp. 174, 17S. Also, Hist, of 
the Chr. Rel. vol. i. pp. 1S9-191, " Presbyters for ruling well, are worthy of 
double honor, specially for laboring in the word.'' See also tins view of the 
passage ar2ed at length by Macknight, Comm. in loco. vol. iii. pp. 206, 207. 
See a^o Neander's Hist, of the First Planting of Christianity, vol. i. p. 177. 

4 



50 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



encountered in propagating the light of the gospel and bringing 
over the Jews and heathens to a faith in Christ. In Romans 16 : 
12, (to pass over what is said in ver. 6 of one Mary,) the apostle 
describes Tryphaena and Tryphosa as laboring in the Lord ; and 
Persis, another woman, as having labored much in the Lord, or 
which is the same thing, for the sake of, or in the cause of the 
Lord. Now what interpretation can be given to this, unless it 
be that these women had assiduously employed themselves in add- 
ing to the Lord's flock, and in initiating persons of their own 
sex in the principles of Christianity ? The word appears to me 
to have the same sense in 1 Cor. 4 : 12, where St. Paul says of 
himself, " And we labor, working with our own hands." By 
laboring, I here understand him to have meant laboring in the 
Lord or for Christ ; and the sense of the passage appears to me 
to be, " Although we labor for Christ, and devote our life to 
the spreading the light of his gospel amongst mankind, we yet 
derive therefrom no worldly gain, but procure whatever may be 
necessary to our existence by the diligence of our hands." And 
when in the same epistle, 1 Cor. 15 : 10, he declares himself to 
have " labored more abundantly than all the rest of the apos- 
tles," his meaning unquestionably is that he made more converts to 
Christianity than they. It would be easy to adduce other pas- 
sages in which by laboring, whether it occur absolutely or in 
connexion with some explanatory addition, is evidently meant 
not the ordinary instruction of the Christians, but the propagat- 
ing of the gospel among those who w r ere as yet ignorant of the 
true religion ; but I conceive that the citations which I have al- 
ready made will be deemed sufficient. We see, therefore, that it 
might not, without show of reason and authority, be contended 
that by " the presbyters who labor in the word and doctrine," 
are to be understood such of the presbyters as were intent on en- 
larging the church, and occupied themselves in converting the 
Jews and heathens from their errors and bringing them into the 
fold of their Divine Master — and not those whose exertions were 
limited to the instructing and admonishing of the members of 
the church, when assembled for the purpose of divine w r orship. 
And nothing could be more natural than for such to be pointed 
out as more especially deserving of a higher reward, and worthy 
to be held in greater esteem than the rest. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



51 



The practice of the churches in subsequent times further 
expounds this text ; for having few learned and able speakers, he 
that could preach best preached ordinarily, and was made chief, 
or bishop, or president, while the rest assisted him in govern- 
ment and other offices, and taught the people more privately, being 
however regarded as of the same office and order with him, and 
preaching occasionally as necessity or usefulness required. 1 It is 
true that when the prelates came to engross the power and 
authority of the ministry, they claimed the exclusive right to 
preach, while presbyters were only allowed to preach by their 
permission; and Dr. Miller deduces from this an argument in favor 
of the application of the term presbyter to lay or ruling elders; 
but that this was a tyrannical assumption of unconstitutional 
power, and neither the general rule nor the general custom, can- 
not be doubted. 2 " Unto priests as well as unto bishops is com- 
mitted the dispensation of God's mysteries, for they are set over 
the church of God, and are partakers with bishops in the teach- 
ing of the people and the office of preaching, " says one ancient 
council. " It is a very bad custom," says the Council of Con- 
stantinople, " in certain churches for priests to hold their peace 
in the presence of the bishops, as though they did either envy or 
scorn to hear them contrary to the apostle/' etc. Gregory thus 
speaks in his pastorals : " Predications officium suscipit, quis ad sa- 
cerdotium accedit," whosoever taketh priesthood upon him, taketh 
upon him also the office of preaching. " Seeing to you," says Gre- 
gory of Nyssa, " and to such as you, adorned with hoary wisdom 
from above, and who are presbyters indeed, and justly styled the 
fathers of the church, the word of God conducts us to learn the 
doctrines of salvation, saying, ask thy father and he will show thee ; 
thy presbyters, and they will tell thee." And so also, the first 
council of Aquisgranense, A. D. §16, most explicitly attributes 
to presbyters the function of preaching, and of administering the 
sacraments. It was in fact the general doctrine of all the fathers, 
that the words addressed by Christ to Peter, " feed my sheep," 

1 Baxter on Episcopacy, Pt. II., p. 122. Apost. Fathers, ed. Cotel. Tom. 
i. p. 624. 

2 Vitringa shows that the custom of the African Church was an exception, 
p. 489. De Vet. Synagr. 



52 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



* were addressed to all the ministers of Christ ; and thus Suicer, 
in entering upon his illustration of the term presbyter from the 
Greek fathers, defines presbyters as those to whom is committed 
the word of God, or the preaching of the gospel. 1 Such is the 
clear determination of the fathers and of those who have most 
thoroughly studied their works. " The business of preaching,'* 
says the learned Le Moyne, " belonged to the apostles, bishops, 
and the early presbyters" — and this he confirms by a long series 
of witnesses. 2 Vitringa defends the same opinion, 3 and says, 
" Surely nothing can be more certain, nothing in ancient history 
more plainly brought to light," than that presbyters were capable 
of all the offices of the bishop or pastor, of which he makes an 
enumeration. 4 Yea, verily, even as late as the time of Jerome, 
" What could a bishop do which a presbyter could not do, except 
in the matter of ordination ?" 5 in which custom and usurpation 
had given a precedency to the latter. 

We have now then, we think, made it evident that in the 
primitive church, presbyters were, by their very office, preach- 
ers ; 6 and that there was as a general rule a plurality of them in 
every church, just as was the case in the apostolic churches. 
The presumption, therefore, arising from these facts in favor of 
the interpretation now given to the passage in 1 Tim. 5 : 17, is 
exceedingly strong, and this presumption will be greatly in- 
creased by the additional fact that in the fathers, the very term 
ngoerrxcoTeg, here translated ruling, and now imagined to refer to 
our ruling elders, or lay representatives of the people, is em- 
ployed to denote (as we think it does in this passage) the presi- 
dent, moderator, or superintendent of the presbytery, who was 
preeminently the pastor and preacher of the church. 7 In proof 
of this, we request attention to the following examples : 

Polycarp, in his letter to Valens, recognizes the authority of 
the presbyters over him, their co-presbyter, and represents him 

1 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 126. 

2 Not. ad Polycarpi Epist. p. 35, in Vitringa, p. 497. 

3 See pp. 484, 485. 4 See p. 486, and especially p. 489. 

5 Ep. ad Evagr. 1. c. 

6 See further proof in Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 157, &c. and 164, &c. 

7 These terms are all synonymous in their derivation. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



53 



as having been " made a presbyter among them." 1 Clemens 
speaks of " the presbyters appointed over " the church at Corinth, 
as having the gifts, eTiHjxonjjg, or the episcopacy. 2 

Thus Justin Martyr mentions the nQosaTwg rtov adsXcpcov, who 
was a presbyter, who presided, and offered up the eucharistic 
prayers. He calls him " that one of the brethren who presides." 3 
Irenaius, in describing the succession of bishops, calls them 
" presbyters, presiding among their brethren." Such were Soter, 
Victor, and others, who are now glorified into popes, but who, 
in the days of Irenaeus, were only 7iqs<j(jvt£qoi ol ngoivTavTig, pre- 
siding or ruling presbyters. 4 Clement of Alexandria, places the 
honor of bishops in their having the first seat in the presbytery, 
that is, among the other presbyters, TiQWToxa&sdgLci. 5 Tertullian 
also represents the government of the church as resident in the 
council of presbyters, ecclesiastici ordinis consessus, of which 
the bishop was the antistes, prcesidens, or summus sacerdos, 
" The presidents that bear rule, are," says he, " certain approved 
presbyters." 6 Even Ignatius describes the bishop as the officer 
of an individual church, and as occupying the first seat, tiqo- 
xa&rjixsvov. The apostolical tradition ascribed to Hippolytus, 
represents the bishop or moderator asking the presbytery of the 
church over which a pastor was to be set apart, " whom they de- 
sire for a president?" ov aiTovvzai ug ag/ovra. The setting apart 
of the presiding bishop, or presbyter, was, by " the deacons hold- 
ing the divine gospels over his head," while presbyters were 
ordained by imposition of hands; nor is there any proof that the 
prelates, or presiding bishops, were separately ordained by im- 
position of hands, before the third century. 7 

Basil speaks of the TrgoevccoTsg or rulers of Christ's flock. 8 
Gregory, of Nyssa, calls bishops the spiritual ngoscnoTsg or rul- 
ers. 9 Both Theodoret and Theophylact explain the term as re- 
ferring to those who preach, and administer the sacraments, and 



1 Dr. Wilson's Prim. Gov't, p. 227. 2 Ibid. 

3 ApoL ad Anton. Sect. L c. 67. 4 Dr. Wilson's Prim. Gov't, p. 227. 

5 Ibid. p. 228. 6 See in Archb. Usher's Reduction of Episc. 

7 Dr. Wilson's Prim. Gov't, p. 229. 

8 In Ps. 28. In Suiceri Thes. in voce. 9 In Ibid. 



54 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



preside over spiritual affairs. 1 Chrysostom is of the same 
opinion. 2 Isidore, of Pelusium, in the fifth century, uses the 
words TigoscTToog, sTiMTxojiog, isQsvg, promiscuously, for the same 
office. 3 Augustine testifies to the same thing ; " for what is a 
bishop," says he, " but a primus presbyter, that is, a high priest, 
(who was in order only a priest,) and he (that is, the apostle) 
calls them no otherwise than his co-presbyters and co-priests." 4 
In like manner does he employ the term sacerdos, priest, as 
synonymous with episcopus, bishop, occasionally prefixing the 
epithet summus, or chief, and thus regarding the bishop as no 
more than the primus, presiding or ruling presbyter. 5 Cyprian 
is strong in confirmation of the same position. While he em- 
ploys ** the office of a priesthood," and " the degree of a bishop," 
as synonymous, 6 his great argument, upon which he frequently 
dwells for the superior honor of bishops, is founded upon the 
preeminence of Peter over the other apostles. But he himself 
teaches, and the fathers generally taught, that Peter was only 
primus inter pares, and that all the apostles were one in order, 
and equal in power. And, therefore, he must have believed that 
bishops were greater in honor than other presbyters, only be- 
cause elevated to the situation of presidency. 7 He thought 
Peter was ordinarily prseses, or moderator, in the apostolic pres- 
bytery, and that bishops stood in the same relation to their pres- 
byters. Cyprian, in fact, was nothing more nor less than 
moderator of his eight presbyters, without whom he could do no- 
thing. 8 Such was also the case with Cornelius bishop of Rome. 9 
Sozomen, the ecclesiastical historian, is also found using the 
terms sTTiaxoTcog, Tigosajoog, qyovpsvog, and ngocnaTTig, as convertible 

1 In Ps. 28. In Suiceri Thes. in voce, and p. 194. 

2 On 1 Tim. 5 : 17, and Dr. Wilson's Prim. Gov't, p. 158. 

3 See Dr. Wilson's Prim. Ch. p. 160. 

4 Tom. iv. 780, in Dr. Wilson, p. 182. 

5 Ibid. 6 Jameson's Cyp. Isot. pp. 395, 362, and c. 393. 

7 See this position abundantly proved by Prof. Jameson, in his Cyprianus 
Isotimus, pp. 374, 375, 377, 380, 390, 391 . 

8 See Epistles, 8, 9, 20, 30, 35, 36, 48, 59, and Jameson, p. 448. 

9 In Epistle 49, ibid. To this agrees the testimony eif Usher, in his Reduc- 
tion of Episc, who thus interpreted them. That there were many officers in 
the same church, see Jameson, pp, 462-464. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



55 



terms, and thus preserving the original idea of the bishop, as the 
presiding presbyter. 1 Hilary, under the names of Ambrose 
and others, calls the bishop primus presbyter. 2 Optatus calls 
him primicerius, which, as a learned civilian defines it, means 
TigwTov yyg rescue, the first of his order, 3 and consequently, still a 
presbyter. The presbyter is thus described by Gregory 
Nazianzen, as the second bishop, dsvitgoig &goroig. Just as 
the praetor Urban us was called maximus, while yet he had no 
more power than the others, but only a greater dignity ; and as 
the chief archon at Athens was only one among many, pares 
potestate, so presbyters and bishops had idem ministerium, as 
Jerome attests, and eadem ordinatio, as Hilary declares; that is, 
the same ministry, orders, ordination, and power, although the 
bishop had the first place in official dignity. 

To these testimonies may be added that of the fourth coun- 
cil of Carthage. " Let the bishop, when he is in the church, 
and sitting in the presbytery, be placed in a higher seat ; but 
when he is in the manse, or house, let him acknowledge that he 
is but their colleague;" 4 that is, says Chamier, "in the same 
charge and office." 5 

It was doubtless in reference to this primitive custom of pre- 
sidency, that the ancients speak of Peter as bishop of Antioch 
and Rome; James, of Jerusalem; Timothy, of Ephesus ; Titus, 
of Crete; and Mark, of Alexandria ; because they were much at 
those places, and frequently presided in the churches there. 
And hence, too, the doctrine of apostolical succession, which 
was nothing more than a list of those who presided over differ- 
ent churches. 6 

Prelates were originally nothing more than the presiding 
presbyters of the churches. Hence, we have found among the 
ancients generally, that while in Greek they were denominated 

1 See quoted in torn. iv. in Dr. Wilson, p. 191. 

2 In 1 Tim. Autor. Quest, in V. et N. T. in Baxter's Diocesan Ch. p. 112. 

3 Gothofrid in Code, in ibid. 

4 Caranz. Suram. Concil. Can. § 5. In Jameson's Cyp. p. 441. 
3 Tom. ii. lib. xiv. c. 14, N. 12, in ibid. p. 442. 

6 Benson's Essay on the Relig. Worship of the Christians, ch. vii. § 6. 



56 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



ngoicna/isvov, in Latin they were called propositi (hence provost) ;* 
and while in Greek they were called ngoedgoi, that is, entitled 
to the first seat, in Latin they were called presides and pros- 
sidentes, presidents ; 2 and hence, too, in order to distinguish 
them from the other presbyters, who were still called bishops, 
they were, as Theodoret says, denominated apostles. 8 The 
original parity of the ministry, the identity of presbyters and 
bishops, and the derivation of prelates from this original order 
of presiding presbyters, or moderators, are thus found to be 
deeply imbedded in the whole nomenclature of the prelacy itself, 
in every age of the church. 

From what has been said, therefore, we conclude that the 
passage in 1 Tim. 5 : 17, does not refer to a double order of 
elders, but to the peculiar duties to which in the apostolic and 
primitive churches, presbyters, the same order, were assigned- — 
the term ruling referring to the duty assigned to those who were 
set over the local church, and who presided over the meetings 
of the presbytery ; and the word especially referring to the 
peculiarly self-denying and laborious duties to which they 
were called who performed the work of evangelists in the sur- 
rounding country. Or, if this interpretation seems too con- 
jectural, there is still another which is easy and natural, and ac- 
cordant to the facts in the case. It will be shown from Cyprian 
that the distinction so generally recognized by the reformers 
and in our own mother church, between pastors and doctors, 
was acted upon in the primitive church. Both were presbyters, 
but while the one discharged fully all the functions of the pastor, 
the other labored in preparing the catechumens for admission into 
the church, in giving instruction also to candidates for the minis- 
try, and to all others also when schools were established by the 
apostles, as is asserted, and by the earliest Christians, as is 
undoubted. And of this distinction there are clear proofs remain- 
ing. The double reference, therefore, in this passage, may be to 
this double class of duties, the presidency of a congregation 

1 See authorities in Riddle's Ch. Antiq. p. 161. Coleman's ibid. p. 98. 
Bingham, vol. i. p. 53, &c. 

2 Riddle's Ant. p. 162. Bingham, &c. 
Riddle, ibid. p. 162. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



57 



where other ministers were associated, being an office more of 
honor than of toilsome labor, and for which a man of advanced 
years, who was not adapted to the active duties of the latter 
sphere, might be competent. 

Either interpretation will meet the difficulties of the case ; 
and if the word rendered " honor''" mean, as is supposed, com- 
pensation, it will still more effectually exclude the ruling elder, 
whose office has never been salaried. 

There is, then, no warrant in Scripture, or in the constitu- 
tion of the apostolic or of the early churches, for interpreting the 
term presbyter in the New Testament as having reference to the 
representatives of the people, that is, to our present ruling elders. 
It must, therefore, be regarded as appropriated to the bishops or 
teachers of the churches. And just as we have now presidents 
or moderators of our presbueries, chosen from among the pres- 
byters, so were there in the apostolic churches presidents, who 
were distinguished from the others by being called " presiding 
presbyters."'' And as these were originally chosen for life, they 
gradually came, by way of abbreviation, to be called " the bish- 
ops,'' to distinguish them, until, in process of time, this title was 
appropriated exclusively to them, while that of presbyters alone 
was given to the others.' 2 This text, then, and it is the only 
one which gives any ground for two kinds of presbyters, 3 can- 

1 See this view ably sustained by Vitringa, p. 490. &c. 

2 On the importance of this view in explaining the origin of Prelacy, and 
other difficulties, see Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 162. &c., and p. 295. &C. 

3 Should any allege in proof of the passage in 1 Tim. 4 : 14, we would re- 
ply in the words of Mr. Lazarus Seaman, in his Vindication of the Ordination 
of the Reformers, p. 92, " Though the power of ordaining or continuing pastors 
(say they) belong to the whole presbytery, yet of old the presbytery did execute 
that in the rite of laying on of hands, not so much by ruling elders as by pas- 
tors, who did especially attend on prophecy or explication of the scripture, and 
application of it to the use of the faithful. Unde Prophetia cum Manuum im- 
positione per quam olirn riebat Ordinatio Pastorum ab Apostoio conjunctur. 1 
Tim. 4 : 14. By this it appears they have a singular opinion of the word pro- 
phecy, not of the word presby tery : for they plainly supposed the presbytery 
consisted of two sorts of eldprs, and yet that preaching elders only laid on 
hands. And well they might suppose, that, (as doth your author so often cited, 

4* 



53 



SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF THE 



not, to use the words of Dr. Wilson, 1 establish such distinc- 
tion, because it can be literally understood of the various duties 
of the same order. Presbyters advanced in life, grave in deport- 
ment, and of distinguished prudence, were fitted to preside ; 
others, if of more ready utterance, and of competent knowledge, 
were best qualified to teach. The passage shows that some pre- 
sided, that others labored in word, and that the honor, or rather 
reward was to be proportioned to their efforts, and not according 
to grades and orders never mentioned in the Scriptures. Pres- 
byter, as an officer of a church, means, in every other passage in 
the New Testament, a bishop, in the ancient sense of the term ; 
and there is no reason to infer from this text, a new sort, never 
heard of till the Reformation. If there is any priority, it is a 
precedence over the presbyters themselves ; for the ^goeaimg was 
he who presided amongst the Ephori, among whom was parity ; 
or who governed a kingdom, and, accordingly, Chrysostom 
thought him both noi^v and didaaxaloq, a pastor and teacher. 
So far is the word ruling (TCQoeo-Twieg) from signifying a subor- 
dinate class of presbyters, that Justin Martyr, within half a cen- 
tury of John, makes use of that identical word repeatedly, to 
mark out that presbyter, who gave thanks and dispensed the ele- 
ments at the sacramental supper to the deacons, to be carried to 
the communicants. The presbyters, who presided (nQosvjwTtg) 
on the most solemn occasions, blessing the elements, deserved 
double reward; but especially those (jiafoaxa ol) who performed 
the chief labor in preaching. " All the saints salute you, (paXiajcc 
de oi,) but chiefly they that are of Caesar's household." (Phil. 
4. 22.) Who would imagine that the saints of Caesar's house- 

p. 171,) because much of prayer and teaching is to accompany the act of impo- 
sition, before and after. None affirm that the word presbytery, as it is used in 
1 Tim. 4 : 14, does necessarily imply a company of ruling elders, as well as 
others. But upon the supposition that there are two sorts of elders, proved by 
other places, they may be included under that one word, because it is compre- 
hensive of them both." 

1 On the Government of the Churches, pp. 283, 284. We might quote at 
great length in further confirmation, Vitringa de Syn. Vet. See pp. 479-484, 
490, 879, 883. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



59 



hold were of a different kind from others? Their labors might 
be different, but they were equally saints ; the word especially 
only expresses that their salutations were either more earnest, or 
presented to peculiar notice. 1 

1 See also Coleman's Primitive Church, p. 127. 



• 



4 



CHAPTER III. 

The term Presbyter was applied by the Fathers only to Ministers who preached 
and ordained, and not to Ruling Elders. 

We now come to the Fathers, and inquire whether among 
them the office of ruling elders existed, and if so whether they 
denominated such officers by the term 'presbyters ? On the first 
inquiry it is not our purpose to dwell, as it has been already suf- 
ficiently established by many writers, and is clearly implied in all 
the proofs by which the participation of the laity in the govern- 
ment of the church is so undeniably proved. 1 The only ques- 
tion, therefore, to which we advert, is, in what way the repre- 
sentatives of the laity who sat in all the early councils, and took 
part in all the concerns of the church, were described, and whe- 
ther they are ever to be understood by the term presbyter. 

In the writings of the apostolic fathers we seem to 
have the simple delineations of church polity which are given in 
the New Testament, except in the epistles of Ignatius, which there 
is very little reason to doubt, have been made to assume the col- 
oring of a subsequent age. 2 We read in Clemens Romanus of 
no other officers in the church than " bishops and deacons," for 
while he does employ the term presbyters, he identifies the per- 
sons so named with those whom he calls bishops, since he sup- 
poses the presbyters to have been invested with the episcopal of- 
fice, and blames the church of Corinth for having cast them out 
of their bishoprics, that is, out of their episcopal office. 3 Either, 
therefore, there were no officers corresponding to ruling elders 

1 See note B. 2 See this proved in Presbytery and Prelacy. 

3 See Ep. § 44, 47, and 57. See the author's work on Presbytery and Pre- 
lacy, p. 340, &c. 



PATRISTICAL VIEW OF THE OFFICE, ETC. 



61 



in the church at Corinth in the time of Clemens, the people con- 
ducting their affairs as a body, or otherwise the bishops and 
other presbyters, together with the deacons, were intrusted with 
the oversight of the congregation. Clemens, it is true, speaks 
of a plurality of these presbyter-bishops in the Corinthian church, 
but this, we have seen, is in exact accordance with apostolic 
usage. 

Very similar is the letter of Polycarp, who was probably the 
ngosGTovg, or presiding presbyter "in the church at Smyrna/ 5 for 
Irenaeus calls him " the apostolic presbyter," and also " bishop." 
This epistle begins very similarly to the epistle to the Philip- 
pians, (ch. 1 : 1,) or to the address of the apostle Peter to his fel- 
low presbyters, (1 Peter 5 : L, " Polycarp and his fellow- 
presbyters," or " the presbyters united with him," and living 
with him at Smyrna, "to the church of God at Philippi." Now 
that by presbyters he meant ministers, is plain from its applica- 
tion to Valens their former minister and bishop, who was, he 
says, " made a presbyter ;" and from the fact that as the apostle 
spoke only of bishops and deacons in their church, (Phil. 1 : 1,) 
so Polycarp alludes only to presbyters and deacons. He must, 
therefore, mean by presbyters the bishops of the apostle. And 
he does, as we have seen, actually employ these terms as inter- 
changeable and synonymous. 1 

It will appear from a comparison of the passages in the writ- 
ings of Hermas, which bear on this subject, that he considered 
bishops and elders as different titles for the same office. He 
speaks of elders as presiding over the church of Rome ; he repre- 
sents a plurality of elders as having this presidency at the same 
time ; having used the word bishops, he explains it as meaning 
those who presided over the churches ; and immediately after 
bishops, (without mentioning presbyters,) he proceeds to speak^ 
of deacons, that is, those who are intrusted with the protection of 
the poor and of the widows. 

As to one other passage, in which he uses four terms in de- 
scribing the officers of the church, it must either be interpreted 
in accordance with the preceding one, the terms bishop, doctor, 



1 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 347. 



62 



PATRISTIC AL VIEW OF THE 



and minister, as in Scripture, being applicable to the one general 
order of Christian ministers, whom Hermas had denominated 
presbyters, and who are here made to succeed the apostles ; or, 
if it must be taken literally, then it recommends four orders of 
the ministry, and not three, and these, too, such as no man on 
earth can find or distinguish. It is apparent, that to all these 
officers, Hermas attributes the management of the episcopal of- 
fice, and the power of the keys, and therefore they must all pos- 
sess the same powers and functions. He makes no distinction 
whatever between the rulers and the teachers, but identifies 
their office. And hence we must conclude, that in the time of 
Hermas, presbyters were equally called apostles, that is, their 
successors in the ordinary ministry of the word, bishops, doctors, 
and ministers, and that no other officers were known to the 
churches, except deacons, who attended to the wants of the 
poor. These presbyters, or bishops, it is further evident, consti- 
tuted a college who governed in common the church of some 
single city or parish, — " the presbyters in this city who govern 
the church." 1 

In Ignatius we have a very frequent reference to the bishops, 
presbyters, and deacons, but there is nothing whatever to mili- 
tate against the view of these terms already given. We must, 
therefore, conclude, that he uses these words in their scriptural 
sense, and as they were employed by Clemens, Polycarp, and 
Hermas; and that he meant therefore by bishop, the president, 
or TtQosvTcag, of which bishop is a literal rendering, and fully ex- 
presses its meaning. To give to the term bishop any other 
meaning, as prelatists do, is most intolerable presumption, and a 
plain contradiction to the inspired testimony. That the presby- 
ters of Ignatius were preachers, and not merely rulers or repre- 
sentatives, is, we think, evident from the manner in which they 
are spoken of. He calls on the people to submit "to the pres- 
bytery as to the law of Christ/' and "to the presbyters as pre- 
siding in the place of the apostolical senate." He calls them 
" those who preside among you as the type or example, and the 
source of instruction in incorruptible truth." 2 " Be subject to 



1 See Presbytery and Prelacy ,-p. 346. 2 Epist. ed Magnes, § 6. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



63 



the presbyters as to the apostles of Jesus Christ our hope." 1 In 
the epistle to Hiero, ascribed to Ignatius, he says of presbyters, 
" they baptize, they celebrate the eucharist, they impose hands 
in penance, they ordain." 2 

Of the primitive fathers, the first of whom we have any 
record is Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, in Asia, A. D. 116. Of 
his exposition of the oracles of God only a few fragments remain. 
And of these the only passage bearing on the question before 
us, is perhaps the one preserved by Eusebius, which is as fol- 
lows : " I shall not think it grievous to set down in writing, 
with my interpretations, the things which I have learned of the 
presbyters, and remember as yet very well, being fully certified 
of their truth. If I met any where with one who had conversed 
with the presbyters, I inquired after the sayings of the presby- 
ters ; what Andrew, what Peter, what Philip, what Thomas 
or James had said; what John, or Matthew, or any other disci- 
ples of the Lord were wont to say; and what Ariston, or John 
the presbyter said : for I am of the mind that I could not profit 
so much by reading books, as by attending to those who spake 
with the Jiving voice." It is very evident from this extract, 
that, in the estimation of this primitive father, the presbyterate 
was the highest order in the ministry, and the true succession of 
the apostles, in their ordinary ministry, since he speaks only of 
presbyters, and expressly calls the apostles themselves pres- 
byters. 3 

Justin Martyr denominates the pastor or officiating minister 
of the Christian church, the TrooferroK:, president or moderator. 
This word he uses, instead of minister or bishop, six times, and 
these other terms not at all. 

According to Justin Martyr, therefore, the bishop, who was 
the pastor of a single congregation, and therefore, by no possi- 
bility a prelate, was also a presbyter. As such he offered up 
prayers, and gave thanks, in the church; administered the 

1 Ep. ad Fall. §2, and §3, and Ep. ad Smyrn. §8. See his testimony 
fully considered in Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 349, &c. 

2 Cap. iii. ed. Corel Thorndike, pp. 163, 164. 

3 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 366, &c. 



64 



PATRISTIC AL VIEW OF THE 



Lord's Supper ; delivered discourses ; and generally conducted 
the worship of the congregation, in all which duties we have de- 
scribed to us the office of a pastor, but not that of a prelate, or of 
a ruling elder. Justin employs the very'term, so commonly appli- 
ed to presbyters throughout the New Testament, calling his 
bishop the ngoscrToog, the presbyter who presided, the moderator, 
or primus inter pares. 1 

About this very period, Philo, in describing the order of the 
synagogue, says: "They brought him (i. e. the accused) before 
the president, with whom the priests sat in council :" 2 and this 
term, president, is, says Vitringa, commonly appropriated by 
the Rabbis to the bishop or preacher of the congregation. 3 

That Irenaeus also employs the term presbyter, as the title of 
those who preached and administered sacraments, is plain. In 
the letter addressed by the martyrs to Eleutherius, they com- 
mend to him Irenaeus, " as a presbyter of the church, which de- 
gree he had obtained." 

" We ought," 4 says Irenaeus himself, " to obey those presby- 
ters who are in the church; those, I mean, who have succession 
from the apostles, as we have shown, who with the succession of 
the episcopate, have received, according to the good pleasure 
of the Father, the sure gift of truth. But they who are looked 
upon by many as presbyters, but serve their own pleasures, 

. . . and are elated with pride, at their exaltation to the 
chief seat, . . . shall be reproved by the Word. 
From all such it behoves us to stand aloof, and to cleave to 
those who, as I have said before, both retain the doctrine of the 
apostles, and, with the order of their presbytership, (or as 
Fevardentius reads, of a presbyter,) exhibit soundness in word, 
and a blameless conversation." Having described wicked pres- 
byters, he adds, 5 " from such we ought to depart, but to adhere 
to those who keep the doctrine of the apostles; and with the 
order of presbytery, maintain sound doctrine, and a blameless 

1 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 367. 

2 See Life of Moses, lib. Hi. p. 528, in Vitringa. 

3 See Vitringa, lib. i. ch. vi. and Bernard, pp. 55,56. 

4 Adv. Hseres, 1. iv. c. 43. 5 Ibid. 1. iv. c. 44. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



65 



conversation, &c. Such presbyters the church does not nourish, 
concerning whom the prophet also saith, I will give thee princes 
in peace, and bishops in righteousness. Of whom our Lord 
also said. Who, therefore, is that faithful, and good, and wise 
servant, whom his master may set over his house, to give them 
their food in due season ?" Again, " He, that is, the apostle, at- 
tributes to all teachers, that succession of the church that is 
from the apostles; and then relates what doctrine he had re- 
ceived from a certain presbyter, that had received it from such 
as saw and conversed with the apostles.' 5 Writing to Florinus, 
he says, " These opinions, O Florinus, the presbyters before our 
times, the disciples (or first successors) of the apostles, did by 
no means deliver to thee." 1 After alluding to Polycarp, and to 
his instructions and discourses, he adds, "lean testify before 
God, that if that holy and apostolic presbyter (Polycarp) had 
heard only such a thing, he would instantly have reclaimed and 
stopt his ears." Writing to Victor, then bishop of Rome, on 
the subject of the Easter controversy, he reminds him, that " he 
ought to follow the ancient custom of the presbyters, whom he 
had succeeded," alluding to Anicetus, Pius, Hyginus, Teles- 
phorus, and Xystus, whom he had just named, and whom he 
calls presbyters. 2 

Victor, bishop of Rome, A. D. 19*2, thus writes : " As thy 
holy fraternity were taught by those presbyters, who had seen 
the apostles in the flesh, and governed the church, until thy time, 
(we find) the catholic church celebrate pasch, not on the four- 
teenth of the month, with the Jews, but from the fifteenth day 
to the twenty-first. Therefore let thy fraternity write to the 
presbyters of Gaul, that they observe pasch, not as the Jews, 
who deny Christ, but with the followers of the apostles, and 
preachers of the truth. The college of the brethren salute thee : 
salute the brethren who are with thee in the Lord. Eubulus, one 
of our college, who carries this epistle to Vienna, is ready to live 
and die with thee." This epistle was sent by Victor and his col- 
leagues, to Dionysius, bishop of Vienna ; and from this passage, 

1 Euseb. Eccl. Hist. 1. v. c. 39. 

* See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 370, &c. 



66 



PATRISTIC AL VIEW OF THE 



it is evident to a demonstration that presbyters were the suc- 
cessors of the apostles, and that by the term presbyter, there- 
fore, only the ministers or teachers of the church were under- 
stood. 1 

Clement Alexandrinus confirms this conclusion. That he 
identifies bishops and presbyters, as the same general ministerial 
order, would appear to be incontrovertible. In the very paragraph 
in which he makes an enumeration of officers, and in allusion to 
the heavenly progression, he ranks them under the two denomi- 
nations of presbyters and deacons, 2 while in another passage, he 
places presbyters first, and bishops second, and widows fourth. 
Though only a presbyter, he yet styles himself a governor of the 
church. He ranks himself among the shepherds or pastors. He 
speaks of presbyters imposing hands, and giving their blessing. 
Presbyters, according to Clement, were intrusted with a dignified 
ministry. He expressly identifies bishop and presbyter, by using 
the one term for the other, in the passage in 1 Tim. 5 : 14. 
Presbyters, according to him, occupy the chief seat on earth, 
and shall sit down among the four and twenty thrones in heaven. 
He repeatedly enumerates only presbyters and deacons, as the 
ministering officers of the church. The presbyter, with Clement 
Alexandrinus, was the highest order of the ministry, and occu- 
pied the chief seat, being clothed with the chief dignity in the 
church, and was therefore the true and proper successor of the 
apostles." 3 

Tertullian describes the presbyters as presiding among the 
churches, administering the communion and baptizing. His 
presidents or presbyters, therefore, cannot possibly refer to ruling 
elders, who never have been so called, or supposed to be capable 
of any of those functions. Preachers, therefore, must be the presi- 
dents of Tertullian, that is, the presiding presbyters of the apos- 
tles, who received this office, says Tertullian, " not by money, 
but by the suffrages of their brethren." 

1 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 372. 2 See Ibid. p. 373. 

3 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 374. " In his tract entitled, f Quis dives 
salve tur/" says the Bishop of Lincoln in his account of his writings, " the titles 

bishop and presbyter are indifferently applied to the same person The 

bishop was, therefore, in truth, the chief presbyter." Lond. 1835, p. 464. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDEPv. 



Origen says, "we of the clerical order, who preside over 
you;" and in speaking of the angels in the Apocalypse, he says, 
"that certain ruling presbyters in the churches were called 
angels." Bishops and presbyters, with Origen, were the same 
order ; they ruled the church, in common, the presbyters pre- 
siding, with the bishop, he having a higher chair, and being 
distinguished by the name of bishop. 1 Origen does unquestion- 
ably allude to a class of officers similar to our ruling elders, 
but not under the title of presbyters. " There are," he says,' 2 
" some rulers appointed, whose duty it is to inquire concerning the 
manners and conversation of those who are admitted, that they 
may debar from the congregation such as commit hlthiness." 

Cyprian unquestionably employs the term presbyter to desig- 
nate those who were appointed to preach, administer the sacra- 
ments, and with the bishop or president to govern the church. 
He appears to have had no officer corresponding to the ruling 
elder in his church, but to have referred all matters to the judg- 
ment of the people at large, as may be seen from several passages 
in his epistles. ? Such is the opinion of Professor Jameson, in 
his very able work on the Cyprianic polity of the church. He 
here abandons the position he had taken in his former works re- 
specting the ruling elder, and gives it as his ultimate opinion 
that "those elders are the representatives of the sacred Plebs, or 
of the church, as she is opposed unto, or distinguished from 
church officers, properlv so called, bishops or pastors, and dea- 
cons ; therefore that they are not. in a strict sense, church offi- 
cers. For I am so well assured of this truth, that only bishops, 
or presbyters and deacons, are, in a proper and strict sense, 
church officers, that if anv thing I ever said can be proved to 
contradict this, I willingly revoke and retract it." 

Again, he says, "I cannot, indeed, during the first three 
centuries, find express mention of these seniors or ruling elders : 
for I freely pass from some words of Tertuilian and Origen, 
which I elsewhere overly mentioned, as containing them: as also 

** See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 378. 

* See.Contra Colsum, lib. iii. p. 142, in Dr. Miller on the Eldership. 
3 See Ep. 6th, and Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 380, &c, and Jameson's 
Cypriamis Isotinus. 



68 



PATRISTIC AL VIEW OF THE 



from what I said of the Ingnatian presbyters, their being ruling 
or non-preaching elders, and that without giving of much advan- 
tage to the Diocesanists, since in or about the Cyprianic age, in 
which time, as I judge, the author or interpolator wrote, there 
were belonging to the same church, parish, or congregation, di- 
vers presbyters, who preached little, if any ; and yet had power to 
dispense the word and sacraments." There is a passage indeed 
adduced by Dr. Miller, which seems to favor the distinct appli- 
cation of the term presbyter to those that did not preach. It is 
in his twenty-ninth Epistle, in which as he translates the words, 
Cyprian speaks of "teaching presbyters." 1 The words in the 
original are " cum presbyteris doctoribus." Now were doctori- 
bus an adjective, qualifying presbyteris, persons authorized to 
teach, the word would have been docentibus, and not doctoribus. 
That there were then a class of teaching presbyters called doctors, 
is evident from the same epistle, where it is said that Optatus was 
appointed doctorem audientium, that is, a teacher of the catechu- 
mens, who were in a state of preparation for admission to the 
church. The words, therefore, are to be rendered, " with the 
presbyters and doctors," 2 or, " with those presbyters who are 
doctors." Our reformers generally recognized this distinction, 
which was practically carried out in Scotland, and adopted in its 
standards, and in the Form of Government adopted by the West- 
minster Assembly. 3 The Doctors, as distinct from the other 
presbyters or teachers, appear to have continued longer in the 
African than in the other churches, and are spoken of by 
Origen. 4 

The testimony of Firmilian is very much to our purpose, and 
in the teeth of those who claim for ruling elders the power of or- 
dination. He says, " All power and grace are placed in the 
church, where presbyters presided, in whom is vested the power 
of baptizing, and imposition of hands, and ordination." 5 

2 Such is the rendering of Marshall. See his Works of Cyprian, p. 69. 

2 So it is rendered in the recent Translation issued at Oxford in 1844, p. 61 . 

3 See the First and Second Books of Discipline, and the Form referred to, 
as it is still in force in the Church of Scotland. 

4 See this view of the passage coufirmed with great learning by Vitringa de 
Synag. pp. 494-497, which I read subsequently. 

5 Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 383. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



69 



In the Gesta Purgationis, commonly referred to the fourth 
century, we meet with the following enumeration of church offi- 
cers : " Presbyteri, diaconi et seniores," that is first, and as the 
highest order, the presbyters ; next, the deacons ; and then, the 
seniors, or representatives of the people ; who are thus carefully 
distinguished from the presbyters; and also, in the following 
words, from the clergy generally : " Call the fellow-clergymen, 
and the seniors of the people ( senior es plebis ), ecclesiastical men" 
In the assembly of which they give an account, several letters 
were read, addressed " to the clergy and the seniors 1 These ec- 
clesiastical officers are also alluded to by Optatus, under the same 
title of " seniors." 2 

Hilary identifies bishops and presbyters, and thus clearly 
proves that he regarded presbyters as ordained preachers and 
pastors. He at the same time alludes to a class of officers 
called seniors, and whom he distinguishes from the teachers or 
presbyters. " For indeed," says he, " among all nations, old age 
is honorable. Hence it is that the synagogue, and afterwards 
the church, had elders, without whose counsel nothing was done 
in the church ; which by what negligence it grew into disuse I 
know not ; unless perhaps by the sloth, or rather by the pride of 
the teachers, while they alone wished to appear something." 
He testifies also, that " in Egypt, even to this day, the presbyters 
ordain in the bishop's absence," and that " the ordination of 
bishop and presbyter is the same, for both are priests." 3 

Damasus, bishop of Rome, (A. D. 366,) says, " the primi- 
tive church only had these two sacred orders of presbyters and 
deacons." 4 

Aerius, in A. D. 368, also identifies the presbyter and the 
bishop as the pastor and administrator of sacraments, and the 
minister also of ordination. 5 

Basil, in A. D. 370, in his Commentary on Isaiah 3 : 2, says, 

1 See in Dr. Miller on the Eldership, p. 68. English edition. 

2 See do. do. p. 70. 

3 See Prelacy and Presbytery, p. 213, and Dr. Miller on the Eldership, p. 71. 

4 See do. do. p. 391. 

5 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 391, and for all the authorities. 



70 



PATRISTICAL VIEW OF THE 



on the word presbyter, " Among the things that are threatened, 
is also the removal of the presbyter, seeing that the advantage of 
his presence is not small. A presbyter is he who is dignified 
with the first seat, and enrolled in the presbytery, bearing the 
character of a presbyter; especially, indeed, if he be an unmar- 
ried man, or if even, according to the law of the Lord, the hus- 
band of one wife, having faithful children, etc. ; this is the pres- 
byter whom the Lord will take away from a sinful people." 1 

• Gregory Nazianzen, (A. D. 370,) in a description of the 
church at Byzantium, observes, " Behold the bench of presby- 
ters, dignified by age and understanding ; the regularity of the 
deacons, not far from the same spirit ; the decency of the read- 
ers ; the attention of the people, as well in the men as in the 
women, equal in virtue." Here are only presbyters, deacons, 
readers, and people, and yet, this church cannot be presumed to 
have been defective of any class of officers existing in other 
churches. Again, "As the presbyter is a minister, he is to 
preach; as he is a ruler, he is to make rules (or canons) for 
bishops and presbyters. And further, he ascends from being 
governed to be a governor ; again, he is to feed the souls of men ; 
to lead and conduct others in the way of truth ; to act the joint 
priest with Christ ; to build and rear up the world that is above ; 
nay, and to be a head of the fulness of Christ." 

Gregory Nyssene (A. D. 371) is equally explicit in appro- 
priating the term presbyter to the pastor or minister. " Seeing 
to you," he says, " and to such as you, adorned with hoary wis- 
dom from above, who are presbyters indeed, and justly styled the 
fathers of the church, the word of God conducts us to learn the 
doctrines of salvation, saying, (Deut. 32 : 7,) ' Ask thy Father, 
and he will show thee : thy presbyters, and they will tell thee.' " 

Ambrose, of Milan, (A. D. 374,) tells us we are to under- 
stand by the word " angels" in the Apocalypse, the rectors or 
presidents, the ngoEaTaxsg, (or presiding presbyters,) because 
angel means messenger, and they who announce the word of God 
to the people are not improperly called angels. 

1 See in Sancti Basilii Opera. Paris. 1839. Tom. i. p. 636. The whole 
passage is in point. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



Tl 



Epiphanius says, " They say that he, (Aerius,) a Lybian by 
descent, having become a presbyter in Alexandria, presided 
(rrgoKjTcao) over a church called Baucalis. For as many churches 
as are of the catholic church, at Alexandria, are under one arch- 
bishop; and over these, individually, jircsbytcrs are placed, to 
administer to the ecclesiastical exigences of the neighboring in- 
habitants. " 

Augustine is very careful to distinguish the presbyters from 
the representatives of the people. Writing to his charge, he 
directs his epistle, Dilectissimis fratribus, clero senioribus et uni- 
versal plebi Ecclesiaa? Hipponensis : where first there is the gene- 
ral compellation fratribus, "brethren,'' then there is a distribu- 
tion- of these brethren into the clergy, the elders, and the whole 
people ; so that there were in that church seniors, distinguished 
both from the clergy and the rest of the people. 

So again, Contra crcsconium Greunmaticum : Ornnes vos 
Episcopi, Presbyteri, Diaconi, et seniores scitis : "All you 
bishops, elders, deacons, and seniors, do know." And again, 
cap. 56, Peregrinus Presbyter, et seniores Ecclesice JIusticanco 
Regiones tale desiderium prosequentur ; where again we read of 
presbyter and seniors in one church. 

These seniors had power to reprove offenders, otherwise why 
should Augustine say, " when they were by the seniors reproved 
for their errors, and drunkenness is laid to a man's charge, etc. 
So that it was proper to the seniors to have the cognizance of 
delinquents and to reprove them." 

The same Augustine, in Psalm 36, says, " Being requested 
by letters from the seniors of that church, it was needful for me 
to hear the cause of Primian/' etc. 

The letter of Purpurius to Silvan us saith, Adhibit e conclericos , 
et seniores plebis, Ecchsiasticos Viros,et inquirant quce sunt istcr 
Dissensiones : tit ea quce sunt secundum fidei Prcecepta jiant — 
where we see the joint power of these seniors with the clergy in 
ordering ecclesiastical affairs : that by their wisdom and care 
peace might be settled in the church ; for which cause these 
seniors are called ecclesiastical men; and yet they are distin- 
guished from clergymen. 

They are mentioned again afterwards by Maximus, saying, 



72 



PATRISTIC AL VIEW OF THE 



Loquor nomine seniorum populi Christiani. Greg. Mag. dis- 
tinguisheth them also from the clergy : Tabellarium cum con- 
sensu seniorum et cleri memineris ordinandum. 

So again Optatus, who mentioning a persecution that did 
for a while scatter the church, saith, Erant ecclesice ex auro et 
argento quam plummet ornamenta, quce nee defodere terrce nec 
secum portare poterat, quare jidelibus senioribus commendavit. 
Allaspineus, that learned antiquary, on this place acknowledges, 
that besides the clergy there were certain of the elders of the 
people, men of approved life, that did tend the affairs of the 
church, of whom this place is to be understood. 1 

But it is enough. The same uniform testimony will be 
found to be given by all the Fathers who write on this subject 
at all, as may be seen in my examination of their testimony, in 
another place, 2 and in the numerous proofs there given of the 
facts that ordination and imposition of hands were regarded in 
the early church, and by many later fathers, as the functions of 
presbyters who were identified with bishops, as the pastors and 
preachers of the church. 3 Any one who will consult Binius, 
will find that presbyters were the pastors of the churches, and 
might even ordain ; 4 that he quotes the fourth Council of Carthage 
as decreeing that the seniors of the churches should be esteemed 
worthy of great honor, 5 that they were anciently called senatus 
pauper in the church of Rome 6 — that in Africa all the officers 
of the church, of whatever degree, who were associated with the 
bishop in the government of the church, were called his senate ; 7 
and that if these officers undertook to ordain, they were punish- 
ed. Such also is the undoubted opinion of the schoolmen, who 
recognize only the two orders of prebsyters or bishops, and dea- 

1 See these passages in Smectymnuus, p. 74. 

2 Presbytery and Prelacy, pp. 397-408. 

3 See Presbytery and Prelacy, B. i. ch. x. pp. 212-234. Various addi- 
tional authorities may be found in Martene de Antiq. Eccl. Ritibus. See Index, 
order presbyter, and the various volumes referred to. 

4 Binii Concilia Generalia, torn. iv. p. 558 ; vii. 731 ; i. 742,415,539,734, 
573, 400 ; ix. 406 ; vii. 731 and 887 ; iii. 835. See also Moriaus de Sacr. 
Eccl. Ordinationibus, pt. iii. p. 276, §5, &c. 

5 Tom. i. p. 730, Can. 83. 6 Tom. i. p. 85. 
7 See torn. ix. Index e< Seves/ 5 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



73 



cons; 1 of all the Oriental churches; 2 of many prelatists; 3 and of 
the universal church. 3 Nothing, therefore, can be more cer- 
tain, as it appears to our minds, than the fact that the term 

PRESBYTER (jlQS0fivJ€gO$) IS EVERY WHERE THROUGHOUT THE 

New Testament, and in the writings of the fathers, to 
be understood of the teachers or presbyters, and never 

of the ruling elders or representatives of the people 

nor can we see any weight in any reason which has been as- 
signed for the opposite opinion, nor any necessity for adopting 
it in order to sustain the scriptural claims and character of the 
ruling elder. On the contrary, the application of the titles of 
presbyter and bishop to these officers obscures the whole ques- 
tion of the polity of the apostolic churches ; renders ambiguous 
and general the very title upon which the order of the ministry 
rests ; weakens, and in some measure nullifies, our arguments 
for one order of ministers against the pretensions of prelacy ; 
leaves the distinction between ministers and ruling elders alto- 
gether indefinite ; leads to wrong and misconceived views of the 
nature and duties of ruling elders ; gives origin to the whole con- 
troversy now agitating the church respecting the rights of elders to 
ordain ; and would eventually destroy either the separate order oj 
ministers or the separate order of ruling elders, since, if both are 
to be understood by the same terms, both must possess the quali- 
fications required by those to whom these terms are given, and 
both, therefore, must be required to discharge all the duties of 
the officers thus qualified and named. 

Before leaving this branch of our subject it may be proper to 
support our views by one or two authorities. Mr. Boyce in his 
very able and learned work, " A Clear Account of the Ancient 
Episcopacy, " says, 5 " I confess many of the reformed churches 
have a sort of elders that are not the same with the presbyters 
of the primitive church, because the latter were properly or- 
dained to the sacred office of the ministry, and empowered 
thereby to baptize, preach, and administer the sacraments, 
when desired by the parochial bishops, whose curates they were. 

1 Tom. i. p. 731. 2 See do. do. pp. 409-414. 

3 See do. do. p. 415, &c, 4 See do. do. p. 223, &c. 

6 London, 1712, p. 208. 

5 



74 



PATRISTICAL VIEW OF THE 



But even these very elders in the reformed churches do very well 
answer to the seniores plebis, that were distinct from the presby- 
ters, and were of laudable use in the primitive church, (as 
Blondel has fully shown in his book, De Jure Plebis in regimine 
Ecclesiastic©.") 

Grotius says, " that the perpetual offices in the church are 
two, that of presbyters and deacons. Those I call presbyters, 
with all the ancient church, who fed the church with the preach- 
ing of the gospel, the sacraments, and the keys." (De Imperio, 
c. x. p. 267; in ibid. p. 39.) " By all which," say the authors 
of Smectymnuus, who were members of the Westminster As- 
sembly, " it is apparent, first, that in the ancient church there 
were some called seniors ; secondly, that these seniors were not 
clergymen ; thirdly, that they had a stake in governing the 
church and managing the affairs thereof; and fourthly, that 
seniors were distinguished from the rest of the people." 1 

It will be interesting to illustrate this subject from the his- 
tory of the church in England. Among the Culdees we know 
that there was always a number of lay brethren associated with 
the presbyters in the government of their communities. Many 
of the Culdees were laymen. Bede himself admits, says Jame- 
son, 2 that of the many who daily came from the country of the 
Scots into the province of the Angles over which Oswald reigned, 
only some were presbyters, where he limits the term presbyter to 
those who could preach and baptize. 

Every member of the fraternity or college had a right, whether 
lay or clerical, " to sit, speak, and reason in their Svnodical as- 
semblies." 3 Boece says that before the time of Palladius " the 
people by their suffrages chose Bishops from the Monks and 
Culdees." 4 Sir James Dalrymple says that " in electing the 
bishop they must have the consensus religiosorum virorum 
civitatis, which must be meant of the laics and its like, also the 
laics had the same share in settling the Culdees, who were 
their pastors." 5 

1 See also Vitringa de Syn. pp. 479, 482, 484, and Fleury's Hist. EccL 
torn, viii., in Luing, p. 314. 

2 Hist. p. 66, 67. 3 Jameson, in eo. p. 57. 
4 In Ibid. p. 98, 99, 5 Collections, p. 134. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



" And herein also of questmen," says Burns in his Ecclesias- 
tical Laws, " sidesmen, or assistants. Note, the office of church- 
wardens, so far as it relates to the repairs or other matters con- 
cerning the church, is treated of under the title Church ; their cog- 
nizance of crimes and offences, falleth in under the title Visitation; 
and other branches of their duty, under divers other titles respec- 
tively ; here it is treated only concerning their office in general, 
or such other particulars as do not fall in more properly elsewhere. 

" In the ancient Episcopal Synods, the bishops were wont to 
summon divers creditable persons out of every parish, to give 
information of, and to attest the disorders of clergy and people. 
These were called testes synodales ; and were in after times a 
kind of impanelled jury, consisting of two or three or more per- 
sons in every parish, who were upon oath to present all heretics 
and other irregular persons. Ken. Par. Ant. 649. 

" And these in process of time became standing officers in sever- 
al places, especially in great cities, and from hence were called 
Synod's men, and by corruption sidesmen ; they are also some- 
times called questmen, from the nature of their office, in making 
inquiry concerning offences. 

" But for the most part this whole office is now devolved upon 
the churchwardens, together with that other office which their 
name more properly importeth, of taking care of the church 
and of the goods thereof, which they had of very ancient time." 1 

" By Can. 118. The churchwardens and sidesmen shall be 
chosen the first week after Easter r or some w T eek following, ac- 
cording to the direction of the ordinary. 

" And by Can. 89. All churchwardens or questmen in every 
parish, shall be chosen by the joint consent of the minister and 
the parishioners, if it may be ; but if they cannot agree upon 
such a choice, then the minister shall choose one, and the par- 
ishioners another ; and without such a joint or several choice 
none shall take upon them to be churchwardens." 2 

" Again," says Burns, " the ancient method was not only for 
the clergy, but the bodj of the people within such a district, to 
appear at Synods, or (as we now call them) general visitations; 



1 Burns' Eccl. Law, vol. i. p. 398. 



! Do. do. p. 401. 



76 



PATRISTICAL VIEW OF THE 



(for what we now call visitations were really the annual synods, 
the laws of the church by visitations always being visitations 
parochial ;) the way was, to select a certain number, at the dis- 
cretion of the ordinary, to give information upon oath concern- 
ing the manners of the people within the district ; which per- 
sons the rule of the canon law upon this head supposes to have 
been selected, while the synod was sitting ; but afterwards, when 
the body of the people began to be excused from attendance, it 
was directed in the citation, that four, six, or eight, according to 
the proportion of the district, should appear together with the 
clergy, to represent the rest, and to be the testes synodales, as 
the canon law elsewhere styles them. But all this while, we 
find nothing of churchwardens presenting, till a little before the 
reformation, when we find the churchwardens began to present, 
either by themselves, or with two or three more credible parish- 
ioners joined with them ; and this (as was before observed) 
seemeth evidently to be the original of that office which our 
canons call the office of sidesmen or assistants. Id. 59, 
60, 61." 1 

" Every churchwarden/' he adds, " is also an overseer of the 
poor by the statute of the 43 el. c. 2, and as such is joined with 
the overseer appointed by the justices of the peace in all matters 
relating to the poor ; and indeed the churchwardens were the 
original overseers long before there were any others specially 
appointed by act of parliament. 

" By Can. 89. Th# churchwardens or questmen shall not 
continue any longer than one year in that office, except perhaps 
they be chosen again in like manner." 

The Rev. William Jones, in his Churchman's Catechism, in 
reference to the same subject, says, " What lay-officers have au- 
thority to act for the discipline of the church ? 

" The churchwardens, chancellors, officials and officers of the 
court should be laymen. 

" Why so ? 

"That the people when they are corrected for their offences 
may not think themselves hardly dealt with ; the persons to whom 
they are committed being of their own order. 

} Burns' Eccl. Law, vol. i. p. 405. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



77 



" How long have Jay officers acted in the affairs of the 
church? 

" Almost ever since the conversion of the Roman empire, for 
1300 years; when persons learned in the laws were granted to 
the Christians for settling their differences. 5 ' 1 

1 Works, vol. xi. p. 421. See also Conde^s View of Religions, p. 165. Ber- 
nard, in his work on the Synagogue, says, the seniors were c< somewhat analo- 
gous to our churchwardens." 



CHAPTER IV. 



The views of the Reformers on the subject of the Eldership, and on the appli- 
cation to it of the term Presbyter. 

We deem it altogether unnecessary to adduce any proof 
that the reformed churches generally adopted the principle that 
the laity had a right to participate in the government of the 
church ; and that as generally they carried out this belief by the 
appointment of delegated representatives, chosen by the people, 
and most commonly called seniors, elders, assistants, commis- 
sioners, or by some similar and analogous name. Dr. Miller has 
left every one without excuse who doubts either of these posi- 
tions. 1 And the fact that the laity were so represented in the an- 
cient British churches, in the Waldensian churches, and also in 
the Syrian churches in the distant East, where lay representatives 
of the people continue to exist to the present day, is very strong 
presumption of its apostolic origin and practice. 

From these ancient churches, Calvin and the other reformers 
adopted their principles of ecclesiastical polity and discipline. 
Now besides ministers of the word and sacraments, the Wal- 
denses always had, and held to be necessary, " a certain college 
of men," to use the words of Bucer concerning them, " excel- 
ling in prudence and gravity of spirit, whose office it is to ad- 
monish and correct offending brethren." In their ancient disci- 
pline, which dates back to the twelfth century, after treating of 
ministers or pastors, it goes on to say, that " God has given to 
his people to choose from themselves guides (or pastors) of the 

1 See his work on the Ruling Elder, and Letters on the Christian Ministry, 
2d ed. 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS ON THE ELDERSHIP. 79 



people, and ancients in their charges according to the diversity 
of the work in the unity of Christ. ,n In the Confession of Faith 
now in use among them, these officers are called " les anciens," 
that is, ancients, seniors, or elders : 2 " selon la pratique de P- 
Eglise Ancienne," " according to the practice of the ancient 
church/' where the same word is used. It is hence apparent 
that among the Waldenses the term presbyter, which is in Span- 
ish, presbytero, and in French, presbtre, or prestre, was not ap- 
plied by them to the representatives who sit in their assemblies, 
but the words " regidors del poble et preires" and as it regards or- 
dination, it is expressly provided by their Discipline (Article 93) 
that " the body of the pastors of the church shall give the impo- 
sition of hands." 3 

This point is important to our argument, for it can be shown 
that the whole institution of the office of ruling elders in the re- 
formed churches, may be traced to the Waldenses. The Bohe- 
mian brethren, it is well known, were a branch of the Walden- 
ses, having removed from Picardy about two hundred years be- 
fore the time of Huss. Now in their form of government we 
have the following direction : " Tell it to the Church" that is, to 
the " Guides, whereby the Church is ruled and that we may be 
at no loss who these " Rulers" were, we are told, in a preceding 
chapter, that they were seniors chosen from among the people 
for the purpose of governing ; and informed that they were dis- 
tinct from the pastors. 4 And in a Confession drawn up by them 
in the year 1535, they say, 5 " Elders (Presbyteri, seu Censores 
tnorum) are honest, grave, pious men, chosen out of the whole 
congregation, that they may act as guardians of all the rest. To 

1 This is the translation given in Perrin's History of the Waldenses, translated 
by Lennard. Lond. 1624. p. 54. And that these mean the ruling elders appears 
from p. 73, where he calls them " the pastors and ancients," and in reference 
to their synods. See the original in Moreland, and quoted in Plea for Presby- 
tery, p. 350, and given also in Blair's Hist. vol. i. p. 533, and Presbytery and 
Prelacy, p. 511. 

2 See Le Livre de Famille, &c. Geneve, 1830. Conf. of F. art. XXXI. p. 
103. 

3 Discipline of the Vaudois. 

4 See Dr. Miller on the Eldership, p. 108, 2d ed. 

5 Do. do. p. 110. • 



80 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



them authority is given, (either alone, or in connexion with the 
pastor,) to admonish and rebuke those who transgress the pre- 
scribed rules, also to reconcile those who are at variance, and to 
restore to order whatever irregularity they may have noticed. 
Likewise in secular matters, relating to domestic concerns, the 
younger men and youths are in the habit of asking their counsel, 
and being faithfully advised by them. From the example and 
practice of the ancient church, we believe that this ought always 
to be done. See Ex. 18 : 21. Deut. 1 : 18. 1 Cor. 6 : 2-4, 5, 
1 Tim. 5: 17." 

Comenius, the Bohemian historian, and last bishop or super- 
intendent, calls these the assistants of the pastor, and says : 
" Such are our seniors ; they are styled judges of the congrega- 
tion or censors of the people, and also ruling elders." 1 

Now mark the bearing of this on our present inquiry. Lu- 
ther, in some of his early writings, had expressed an unfavorable 
opinion of the Bohemian brethren ; but, upon being more fully 
informed of their doctrine and order, and more especially of 
their provision for maintaining sound discipline, by means of 
their Eldership in each congregation, he changed his opinion, 
and became willing both to speak and to write strongly in their 
favor. Hence his highly commendatory Preface to their 
" Confession of Faith," of which mention has been already 
made. And hence, at a still later period, the following strong 
expressions in favor of the same people : " There hath not 
arisen any people, since the times of the apostles, whose church 
hath come nearer to the apostolical doctrine and order, than the 
brethren of Bohemia." 

" Bucer, the Swiss reformer, having largely conversed with 
two of the Waldensian pastors, declared, that they have preserved 
among them the discipline of Christ, which constrains us to give 
them this praise." In 1533, Melancthon wrote them as follows : 
" In reality I do not at all disapprove of that very severe manner 
of exercising the discipline, which is practised in your churches. 
Would to God it were enforced with a little more rigor in ours." 

We have also evidence that to them Calvin was indebted for 

1 See Dr. Miller on the Eldership, p. 114. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



81 



his idea of this office. 1 " We know that this venerable man be- 
before he was expelled from Geneva 1538, and while he was 
struggling and suffering so much for want of an efficient disci- 
pline, made no attempt to introduce the institution in question." 
When Calvin first settled in Geneva in J 536, he found the re- 
formed religion already introduced and to a considerable extent 
supported, under the ministry of Farel and Viret, two bold and 
faithful advocatesof evangelical truth. Such, however, was the op- 
position made to the doctrines which they preached, and especially 
to the purity of discipline which they struggled hard to establish, 
by the licentious part of the inhabitants, among whom w r ere some 
of the leading magistrates, that in 1538, Calvin and his col- 
leagues were expelled from their places in the Genevan church, 
because they refused to administer the Lord's Supper to the 
vilest of the population who chose to demand the privilege. In a 
paroxysm of popular fury, those faithful ministers of Christ were 
commanded to leave the city within two days. During this tem- 
porary triumph of error and profligacy, Calvin retired to Stras- 
burg, where he was appointed Professor of Divinity and pastor of 
a church, and where he remained nearly four years. 

In 1540, the year before he was recalled to Geneva, he cor- 
responded icith the Bohemian brethren, and made himself partic- 
ularly acquainted with their plan of church government, which 
he regarded with deep interest ; an interest no doubt greatly 
augmented by the sufferings which he had recently undergone in 
fruitless efforts to maintain the purity of ecclesiastical discipline; 
in which efforts he had been baffled chiefly by the want of such 
an efficient system as the Bohemian churches possessed. " It 
was when in Strasburg," says Mr. Lorimer in his work on the 
Eldership, p. 162, "that he was led more fully to study the office 
of the Ruling Elder, especially in connection with the history of 
the Bohemian and Waldensian churches, which could trace their 
origin to a very remote antiquity, and which had always enjoyed 
the advantage of a numerous and powerful body of such officers. 
Calvin clearly saw that it was only an ecclesiastical staff of this 

1 See Dr. Miller on the Eldership, p. 118, and 116 and 117. Also, Dr. 
Laing s Religion and Education in America, p. 315. 

5* 



S2 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



kind which could remedy such disorders as those which had pre- 
vailed at Geneva ; that, in short, had the ministers been support- 
ed by a suitable body of representatives from the congregation, 
the tumult would in all probability never have occurred." In 
the course of his correspondence, while yet in exile for his fidel- 
ity, Calvin addressed the Bohemian pastors in the following 
pointed terms : — " I heartily congratulate your churches, upon 
which, besides sound doctrine, God hath bestowed so many ex- 
cellent gifts. Of these gifts, it is none of the least to have such 
pastors to govern and order them ; — to have a people themselves 
so affected and disposed ; — to be constituted under so noble a 
form of government; — to be adorned with the most excellent 
discipline, which we justly call most excellent, and indeed the 
only bond by which obedience can be preserved. I am sure we 
find with us, by woful experience, what the worth of it is, by the 
want of it ; nor yet can we by any means attain to it. On this 
account it is, that I am often faint in my mind and feeble in the 
discharge of my duties. Indeed I should quite despair did not 
this comfort me, that the edification of the church is always the 
work of the Lord, which he himself will carry on by his own 
power though all help besides should fail. Yet still it is a great 
and rare blessing to be aided by so necessary a help. Therefore 
I shall not consider our church as properly strengthened, until 
they can be bound together by that bond." And the pious his- 
torian after giving this extract from the venerable Reformer adds : 
" It so happened, in the course of divine Providence, that, not 
long afterwards, this eminent man was recalled to minister in the 
church of G eneva, where he establ ished the very same kind of dis- 
cipline which is now famed throughout the world." 

In the year 1541 Calvin says : — " I detailed to the senate my 
labor; I showed them that the church could not stand, unless a 
certain form of government were appointed, such as is prescribed 
to us in the word of God, and was observed in the ancient 
church. I then touched certain heads, whence they might un- 
derstand what I wished. But because the whole matter could 
not be explained, I begged that there should be given us 
those who might confer with us. Six were appointed to us. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



S3 



Articles will be written concerning the whole government of a 
church, which we shall afterwards lay before the senate.'"' 1 

The committee at Geneva reported, laws were prescribed, 
and a constitution instituted by the General Council, on the 20th 
of Not. 1541. The consistory was to contain a double number 
of laymen, chosen annually ; that is, at first it consisted of the 
six ministers, two laymen from the lesser senate, or council of 
twenty-five; and ten from the greater, or council of two hun- 
dred ; one of the syndics presiding. That Calvin did afterwards, 
says Dr. Wilson, attempt to justify the reception of lay presby- 
ters, from the authority of the Scriptures, his writings evince. It 
is perfectly clear, nevertheless, that it was adopted at first by him 
as an expedient for reducing the church at Geneva to a state of 
discipline, which should secure the reformation at that place. 
He probably preferred the name consistory, because the judica- 
tory was composed of laymen and elders, for since ordination is 
by laying on of the hands of the presbytery, if those laymen were 
members of a presbytery, then they must impose hands, and give 
an authority which they possessed not. As if apprehensive, also, 
of the impropriety of denominating men presbyters who had re- 
ceived no ordination, he called them inspectors. 5 ' 2 

Such then was the original of Calvin's lay representatives of 
the people. And that he did not regard them as properly enti- 
tled to the name of presbyters appears, not only from the different 
name he gave to the court of which they formed a part, and the 
name he gave to them, but from his positive instructions. In his 
Institutions, Book 4, chap. 3, he has the following passage, which 
is explicit. " In calling those who preside over churches by the 
appellations of <; Bishops/'-' " Elders''' and " Pastors,' 5 without any 
distinction, I have followed the usage of the Scriptures, which 

1 Epist. 50. 

2 " Non solos verbi rainistros sedere judices in consistorio ; sed numerum 
duplo majorem partim cx minori senatu ex delectis senioribus esse, ut vocant, 
partim ex raajore deiigi,ad haecunum fere ex syudicis praesidere." Epist. 167. 
l< De-ii^untur quotannis duodeciru seniores ; nempe ex minori senatu duo, reliqui 
ex ducentis, sive sint indigenae sive ascriptirii cives. Qui probe et fideliter 
munere suo perfuncti sunt, loco non moventur ; nisi/^&c. See Dr. Wilson on 
the Gov't of the Ch. p. 237. 



84 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



apply all these terms to express the same meaning. For to all 
who discharge the ministry of the word, they give the title of 
"Bishops." So when Paul enjoins Titus to " ordain elders in 
every city," he immediately adds, " for a bishop must be blame- 
less." So in another place, he salutes more bishops than one in 
one church. And in the Acts of the Apostles he is declared to 
have sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus, whom in his 
address to them he calls " Bishops." Here it must be observed 
that we have enumerated only those offices which consist in the 
ministry of the word; nor does Paul mention any other in the 
4th chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians which we have quoted. 
But in the Epistle to the Romans and the first Epistle to the 
Corinthians, he enumerates others, as " powers," " gifts of heal- 
ing," " interpretation of tongues," "governments," " care of the 
poor." Those functions which are merely temporary, I omit, as 
foreign to our present subject. But there are two which perpet- 
ually remain, " governments," and " the care of the poor." 
" Governors," I apprehend to have been persons of advanced 
years, selected from the people to unite with the bishops in giving 
admonition and exercising discipline. For no other interpreta- 
tion can be given of that injunction, " He that ruleth let him do 
it with diligence." For from the beginning, every church has 
had its senate, or council, composed of pious, grave and holy 
men, who were invested with that jurisdiction, for the correction 
of vices, of which we shall soon treat. Now, that this was not 
the regulation of a single age, experience itself demonstrates. 
This office of government is necessary therefore in every age." 

Dr. Miller has undoubtedly shown that both Zuingle and 
(Ecolompadius before the time of Calvin had openly taught the 
scriptural claims of the office of ruling elders, whom they denom- 
inated elders of another kind, that is, senators, leaders or counsel- 
lors, or as the latter calls them, in accordance with ancient usage, 
"seniors." 2 A consistory was established at Zuric, A. D. 1525, 
" for the decision of matrimonial and other causes which had 
hitherto been carried before the bishop of Constance," and an-. 

1 Scott's Continuation of Milnor, vol. 2, p. 521. 

2 On the Eldership, ch. vi. p. 121, 122. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



other at St. Gallen, A. D. 1526, for the same objects. 1 But the 
constitution of these courts shows plainly that whatever may 
have been the subsequent views of these reformers, they did 
not regard the office of ruler in the light in which we now 
consider the ruling elder. For in both cases the members of 
these courts were chosen either by the state, as at Zuric, or by 
popular vote. Zuinglethus delineates his views. 2 " I will briefly 
explain the use made of the council in these affairs, since we are 
calumniated by some for leaving to the decision of two hundred 
persons, that which ought to be referred to the whole church, 
consisting of seven thousand. Thus then the case stands. We 
the ministers of Zuric have some time back freely admonished 
the council that we consent to refer to them what properly be- 
longs to the judgment of the whole church, on no other condition 
than this, that in their deliberations and decrees they shall take 
the word of God for their guide. We have reminded them also, 
that they on no other terms stand in the place of the church, than 
as the church has voluntarily (benigne) consented to receive 
their decrees. We proclaimed the same sentiments to the 
church at large ; observing to them, that in times like these, 
when numbers are swayed by perverse affections, which they 
would vainly have to be taken for the suggestions of the Spirit, 
many things cannot be safely committed to the votes of a mul- 
titude : not that we have any apprehensions that God would de- 
sert his church, but because, while all its institutions are yet 
green and tender among us, the occasions of contention are to 
be avoided. We have recommended it therefore to the people 
to leave to the council the regulation of external matters, under 
the direction of the word of God ; promising that, if ever we see 
the authority of that word likely to be disregarded, we will not 
fail to cry out and give them warning. To this the church has 
hitherto consented, not by any formal resolution, but by a peace- 
able and grateful acquiescence." He then refers to a scriptural 
example, by which he conceives such a course to be sanctioned, 
and proceeds ; " That the council in these affairs acts not in its 

1 Scott's Continuation of Milnor, p. 578. 

2 Do. do. do. vol. iii. p. 32, and p. 91, and T. Op. ii. 248. 



86 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



own name, bat in that of the church, is evident from this, that 
whatever is determined here, in Zuric, (as for instance concerning 
images, the eucharist and the like,) is left free to the churches in 
the country, which consist of smaller numbers, to be adopted or 
rejected, as seems to them fit. And our measures have so suc- 
ceeded that the blessing of God upon them is manifest. We 
are likewise careful so to instruct the people on those subjects 
on which the council has to decide, that whatever the latter, in 
conjunction with the ministers, ordains, is, in fact, already or- 
dained in the minds of the faithful." 

" A General Synod also of the clergy of the canton was ap- 
pointed, to assemble twice every year, with one of the burgomas- 
ters and eight members of the council, (somewhat resembling, 
therefore, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland,) to 
superintend the doctrine and manners of the clergy, and the 
conduct of all ecclesiastical affairs. " 

OEcolompadius, however, makes an entire distinction between 
the church and the state, on which subject he delivered a copious 
oration before the council of Berne. He there takes the position 
" that what may or even can be done by the magistrate does 
not supersede, indeed that it scarcely at all takes the place of, a 
well administered church discipline." 

In " The Confession of the Churches of Switzerland," adopted 
as a platform of union and agreement at the conference held at 
Basle, A. D. 1536, drawn up by Bullinger, Myconius and Gryn- 
ceus, and translated into English by the Scottish Martyr, 
George Wishart, about A. D. 1540, in Art. xviii. it calls minis- 
ters " presidents, heads and teachers. "j In Art. xix., which 
treats of " the duty of ministers or officers," it declares that 
one end of the ministry is, " that by a godly consent and agree- 
ment of them who are chosen by the ministers or magistrates 
for correction," &c. And in Art. xvii. of "the choosing minis- 
ters or officers," it is declared that their election " is well and 
justly approved by the voice of the church and the imposition of 
the hands of the heads of the priests," that is, of those appointed 
to the duty. Now, from this we learn, that in accordance with 
our interpretation of 1 Tim. 5 : 17, moderators are called presi- 
dents ; that ruling elders are not called by this name nor founded 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



87 



upon any express divine authority, but are called officers chosen 
by the ministers or magistrates; and that only ministers were 
authorized to assist in the imposition of hands; and lastly, that 
these were the views taken by the early founders of the Scottish 
church, 1 

We introduce these quotations the rather because they con- 
firm so pointedly our view of the foundation on which the office 
of ruling elders as representatives of the people rests — the power 
given by Christ to every member of his church, to take part in 
the ecclesiastical government of his church, and the power 
therefore of the people to act in this matter, either as a body or 
by chosen delegates, as the example of the Scripture warrants, 
and which experience has so fully justified as both wise and 
necessary. 

Other Swiss cantons hearing of the " orders" of Geneva, were 
led to imitate them. Calvin, in reply to one church which sought 
his advice, says, " it would certainly be great impudence to dis- 
approve of that in your case, which we ourselves have adopted 
as both good and useful." 2 Geneva and Lausanne, from their 
contiguity to France, so greatly influenced the work of reforma- 
tion in that kingdom, that, so early as 1550, the reformed socie- 
ties of that country were generally in communion with the 
church at Geneva, and had adopted the doctrines of Calvin. The 
Gallic confession, exhibited to Charles IX. in 1561, thus ex- 
presses their views : " We believe that the true church ought to 
be governed by that discipline which our Lord Jesus Christ has 
decreed ; namely, that there should be in it pastors, presbyters 
or seniors, and deacons ; that purity of doctrine may be pre- 
served, vice restrained, the poor and others in affliction provided 
for," &c. 

In the next century, the churches were left by the acts of the 
synod of Charenton, in 1645. to their choice on the subject of 
elders. 3 

Calvin's discipline spread from France to the Netherlands. 

1 See a republication of this inaccessible Tract, and of Wishart's Translation 
in the Miscellany of the Wodrow Society, vol. i. Eduit. 1844. Art. ] . 

2 Ep. 55. 

3 See quoted below. 



88 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



For these churches, when scattered by persecution, held a synod 
at Emden in 1569, at which it was agreed, " that in the French 
congregations, the Geneva catechism might be held, and in the 
Dutch that of Heidelberg." Also, they declared that " no 
church shall have, or exercise dominion over another, and no 
minister, elder, or deacon, shall bear rule over others of the same 
degree;" which is Calvin's order. 

The first presbytery erected in England, was convened in 
1572, when eleven elders were chosen, and their proceedings 
were entitled, " The Orders of Wadsworth ;" imitating the style 
of the order of the church at Geneva. 

Knox visited Geneva in 1554, and became the disciple and 
friend of Calvin, and used both at Frankfort and at Geneva, in 
the English congregation over which he presided, " The Book of 
Common Order," which Calvin assisted in drawing up. In this 
there is provision made for " an assembly or consistory" of " the 
pastors or ministers" and " elders," who are thus carefully dis- 
tinguished in their titles, and also in their functions. For of min- 
isters, of whom it recognizes two kinds, " the pastor" and " the 
teacher or doctor,'' (ch. i. and iv.) it is said, their " chief office 
standeth in preaching the word of God and ministering the 
sacraments," under which terms it evidently includes ordination, 
since it quotes in proof of this general definition of power, Acts 
13 : 2, 3, where the presbyters of Antioch ordained Paul and 
Barnabas for the work whereunto God had called them, (see ch. 
i.) Of elders it is said, "they differ from the ministers in that 
they preach not the word nor minister the sacraments," (ch. ii.) 
where the same definition is repeated, so that elders are of course 
excluded from the work of ordination and imposition of hands. 

In the following year Knox, with others, drew up M The 
First Book of Discipline," which was adopted in Scotland. 
This provides for the election of " elders" or " seniors," (ch. x. 

2, 5, 8,) which last name is most frequently used. " The elec- 
tion (ch. x. § 3) of elders and deacons ought to be made every 
year once, which we judge to be most convenient on the first 
day of August; lest of long continuance of such officers, men 



1 Dr. Wilson, p. 247. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



89 



presume upon the liberty of the kirk : (and yet) it hurteth net 
that one be received in office more years than one, so that he be 
appointed yearly (thereto) by common and free election ; pro- 
vided always, that the deacons and treasurers be not compelled 
to receive the (same) office again for the space of three years. 
How the votes and suffrages may be best received, so that every 
man may give his vote freely, every several church may take 
such order as best seems (to) them. 

" The elders being elected, must be admonished of their 
office, which is to assist the ministers in all public affairs of the 
church; to wit, in determining and judging causes, in giving 
admonition to the licentious liver, in having respect to the man- 
ners and conversation of all men within their charge. For by 
the gravity of the seniors, the light and unbridled life of the 
licentious must be corrected and bridled. 

" We think it not necessary," it is added, " that any public 
stipend shall be appointed, either to the elders, or yet to the dea- 
cons, because their travel continues but for a year; and also be- 
cause that they are not so occupied with the affairs of the church, 
but that reasonably they may attend upon their domestic busi- 
ness." 1 

It is further provided, (chap. iv. § 10) 2 that " other ceremony 
than the public approbation of the people, and declaration of the 
chief minister, that the person there presented is appointed to 
serve the church, we cannot approve ; for albeit the apostles 
used imposition of hands, yet seeing the miracle is ceased, the 
using of the ceremony we judge not necessary." 

It will however be observed, that all that was regarded as 
equivalent to imposition of hands was then performed by the pre- 

1 Dr. McCrie,in the second volume of his life of Calvin, proves that the con- 
tinued practice of the church, was the " annual election" of elders : see also 
Dr. Aiton's Life of Henderson, p. 336. This author adds, " A layman as 
elder cannot moderate in the assembly, or in any other church court, because 
such meetings begin and end with prayer, and ruling elders have no calling to 
pray publicly in our church ; they are but assistants in discipline." 

2 This opinion respecting imposition of hands, was not peculiar to the Re- 
formers, but common also to the Romish doctors. See Calderwood's Altare 
Damascenum, p. 174, 175. See also Seaman's Vindication of Ordination 
p. 75, 78 : and Courayer on English Ordination, passim-* 



90 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



siding minister, without any concurrence of the elders in the 
act. 

In the Second Book of Discipline, which was adopted in 1578, 
and continued in force in the Church of Scotland until the adop- 
tion of the Westminster standards, in chap. ii. it is said, " The 
whole policy of the kirk consisteth in doctrine, discipline, and 
distribution. With doctrine is annexed the administration of 
sacraments," including of course ordination, as in the Book of 
Common Order ; " and according to the parties of this division, 
arises a threefold sort of office-bearers in the kirk, to wit, of 
ministers or preachers, elders or governors, and deacons or dis- 
tributors." 

There are (chap. ii. § 6) 1 four ordinary functions or offices 
in the church of God : the office of the pastor, minister, or 
bishop ; the doctor ; the presbyter or elder ; and the deacon. 

It is added, (chap. iii. § 3,) " All these should take these 
titles and names only (lest they be exalted and puffed up in 
themselves) which the Scriptures give unto them, as those which 
import labor, travel, and work, and are names of offices and ser- 
vice and not of idleness, dignity, worldly honor, or pre-eminence, 
which by Christ our master is expressly reproved and forbidden." 

The duty of the pastors is thus expressed (chap. iv. § 6-12) : 
" Unto the pastors appertains teaching of the word of God, in sea- 
son and out of season, publicly and privately, always travelling 
to edify and discharge his conscience, as God's word prescribes 
to him. 

" Unto the pastors only appertains the administration of the 
sacraments, in like manner as the administration of the word ; 
for both are appointed by God as means to teach us, the one by 
the ear, and the other by the eyes and other senses, that by both 
knowledge may be transferred to the mind. 

1 In chapter xi. § 9, it is added, (i As to bishops, if the name eici<rm*os be 
properly taken, they are all one with the ministers, as before was declared. For 
it is not a name of superiority and lordship, but of office and watching. Yet, 
because in the corruption of the church, this name (as others) has been abused, 
and yet is likely to be ; we cannot allow the fashion of their new chosen bishops, 
neither of the chapiters that are electors of them to such offices as they are 
chosen to." 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



91 



" It appertains by the same reason to the pastors to pray for 
the people, and namely for the flock committed to his charge, and 
to bless them in the name of the Lord, who will not suffer the 
blessings of his faithful servants to be frustrated. 

" He ought also to watch over the manners of his flock, that 
the better he may apply the doctrine to them in reprehending the 
dissolute persons, and exhorting the godly to continue in the fear 
of the Lord. 

" It appertains to the minister, after lawful proceeding by the 
eldership, to pronounce the sentence of binding and loosing upon 
any person, according unto the power of the keys granted unto 
the church. 

" It belongs to him likewise, after lawful proceedings in the 
matter by the eldership, to solemnize marriage betwixt them that 
are to be joined therein ; and to pronounce the blessing of the 
Lord upon them that enter in that holy band in the fear of God. 

" And generally all public denunciations that are to be made 
in the kirk before the congregation, concerning the ecclesiastical 
affairs, belong to the office of a minister ; for he is a messenger 
and herald betwixt God and the people in all these affairs. " 

The office of " Doctor" is maintained and fully described in 
Chapter fifth. 1 

Of " elders" who do not " labor in word and doctrine," 
(chap. vii. § 1,) it is said, (chap, vi.,) " The word Elder in the 
Scripture sometimes is the name of age, sometimes of office. 
When it is the name of an office sometimes it is taken largely, 
comprehending as well the pastors and doctors, as them who are 
called seniors or elders. 

" In this our division we call these elders whom the Apostles 
call presidents or governors. Their office, as it is ordinary so it 
is perpetual, and always necess ry in the church of God. The 
eldership is a spiritual function, as is the ministry. Elders once 
lawfully called to the office and having gifts of God meet to exer- 
cise the same, may not leave it again. Albeit such a number of 
elders may be chosen in certain congregations, that one part of 

1 There is thought to be an allusion to this office in 1 Cor. 14 : 30. See 
Bernard's Synagogue and the Church, p. 249. 



92 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



them may relieve another for a reasonable space, as was among 
the Levites under the law in serving of the temple. The num- 
ber of the elders in every congregation cannot well be limited, 
but should be according to the bounds and necessities of the 
people." 

Of church sessions it is said, (chap. vii. § 10,) " The first kind 
and sort of assemblies, although they be within particular con- 
gregations, yet they exercise the power, authority, and juris- 
diction of the church with mutual consent, and therefore 
bear sometimes the name of the church. When we speak of the 
elders of the particular congregations, we mean not that every 
particular parish church can or may have their own particular 
elderships, specially to landwart, but we think three or four, 
more or fewer particular churches, may have one common elder- 
ship to them all, to judge their ecclesiastical causes. Albeit this 
is meet, that some of the elders be chosen out of every particular 
congregation, to concur with the rest of their brethren in the 
common assembly, and to take up the delations of offences within 
their own churches, and bring them to the assembly. This v/e 
gather of the practice of the primitive church, where elders or 
colleges of seniors were constituted in cities and famous places." 

As for elders, it is added in chap. xii. § 5, " There would be 
some to be censurers of the manners of the people, one or more 
in every congregation; but not an assembly of elders in every 
particular church, but only in towns and famous places where 
resort of men of judgment and ability to that effect may be had, 
where the elders of the particular churches about may convene 
together, and have a common eldership and assembly place among 
them, to treat of all things that concern the congregations of 
which they have the oversight." 

In " The Form of Process of the Judicatories of the Church 
of Scotland," adopted in 1707, chap. i. § 2, it is said, 1 " It is 
agreeable to and founded on the word of God, that some others, 
besides those who labor in the word and doctrine, be church 
governors, to join with the ministers of the word in the govern- 
ment of the church, and exercise of discipline and oversight of 



1 See Books of Discipline, &e. Edinburgh, 1836. p. 131. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



93 



the manners of the people, which officers are called ruling elders : 
as also that the church be governed by several sorts of judicato- 
ries, and one in subordination to the other, such as church ses- 
sions, presbyteries, provincial synods, and general assemblies. " 

In Stewart's Collections, which was formerly of authority in 
this country as well as in Scotland, we find among much to the 
same purpose the following hints : — 

In Book I. Title I. § 21, 1 " Our church doth condemn any 
doctrine that tends to support the people's power of ordaining 
their ministers; for by the 5th act of Assembly, 1698, upon in- 
formation that a divine of the Church of England had in his ser- 
mon charged them as corrupters of the word of God, who, to fa- 
vor popular ordinations, had caused that passage of Scripture, 
Acts 6. 3, " whom we may appoint over this business," to be 
printed " whom ye may appoint," &,c, they did unanimously 
disclaim the above-mentioned error of the press, and did declare 
they did not own any other reading of that text to be according 
to the original but " whom we may appoint," &,c. This of 
course limits ordination to ministers. 

Describing the form of ordination services, it is said, (§ 24,) 
" In the most conspicuous place of the church, and near to the 
pulpit, a table and seats being placed, where the brethren of the 
presbytery, the heritors and elders of the congregation, with the 
magistrates and council, when in burghs royal, are to sit, together 
with the intrant, so that all the ministers may conveniently 
give him imposition of hands, and the others may take him by the 
hand, when thereunto called ; the minister is to come from the 
pulpit to the foresaid place, where the intrant kneeling (for the 
more decent and convenient laying on of hands) and the brethren 
standing, he, as their mouth, in their Master's name and autho- 
rity, doth in and by prayer set the candidate apart (not only the 
minister who prays but all the brethren that conveniently can, 
laying their hands upon his head) to the office of the ministry, 
invoking God for his blessing to this effect." 

In Title VII. of Ruling Elders, it is said, " He is called a 

1 See Edinb. ed. 1709. 4to. And also a Compendium of the Law of the 
Ch. of Scotland, vol. i. p. 194. 



94 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



ruling elder, because to rule and govern the church is the chief 
part of his charge and employment therein ; and albeit he may 
act as a deacon, yet his principal business is to rule well, and it 
belongs not to him to preach or teach." " Their ordination is 
to be by the minister of the congregation , or by one from the 
presbytery , in the case above supposed, in the presence of the 
congregation, upon a Lord's day after sermon is ended in the 
forenoon ; at which time, the minister calling upon the persons 
chosen to be elders, they are to be interrogated concerning their 
orthodoxy, and to be taken solemnly engaged to adhere to and 
maintain the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of the 
church, and to lay themselves forth, by their office and example, 
to suppress vice, cherish piety, and exert discipline faithfully and 
diligently. Then the elders chosen, still standing up, the minis- 
ter is next, by solemn prayer, to set them apart, in verbis de pre- 
senti. After prayer the minister is to exhort both elders and 
people to their respective duties. 

" The duties of elders which are more public are those which 
lie upon them in the assemblies of the church, in which ruling 
elders have right to reason and vote in all matters coming before 
them, even as ministers have ; for to general assemblies their 
commissions bear them to the same power with pastors. How- 
beit, by the practice of our church, the execution of some decrees 
of the church doth belong to the pastors only ; such as the impo- 
sition of hands, the pronouncing the sentences of excommunica- 
tion and absolution, the receiving of penitents, the intimation of 
sentences and censures about ministers, and such like. In short, 
the elder is to speak nothing to the church from the pulpit." 

In Title IX. of Moderators, it is said, " Seeing the moderator 
is frequently called to exercise the power of order, as solemn 
public ecclesiastic prayer, at least twice every session, to wit, at 
its first opening, and then at its closing, authoritative exhortation, 
rebuke, direction, it is convenient the moderator be always a 
minister." 1 

1 Another reason is assigned in a very old Scotch work, " The Case 
of the Accommodation examined," p. 24. " Where the Session doth consist 
of one minister, both a preaching and a ruling elder, and the other elders of the 
congregation, who are but his helpers in discipline, his different quality, with the 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



95 



In Title XII. of Presbyters, it is said, " The directory for 
government saith, that to perform any classical act of govern- 
ment or ordination, there shall be present at least a major part of 
the ministers of the whole classis." 

That the views here given of the power of the ruling elders, 
is accordant to the uniform practice of the Church of Scotland, 
is proved by undeniable evidence. Caldervvood asserts the fact 
that ruling elders did not lay on hands in his day, and adds, 
" Finally, though we should grant this act (the laying on of hands) 
to be a sacrament, and that the administrators of this sacrament are 
Pastor-presbyters only, still the others will not thereby be ex- 
cluded from the Presbytery, (1 Tim. 4. 14,) because the laying on 
of hands does not belong to them ; for the imposition of hands 
may be called the " imposition of the hands of the Presbytery/' 5 
although each and every one of the Presbytery have not the 
power of imposing hands. It is enough that the leading part of 
the Presbytery have that power, just as the tribe of Levi is said 
to offer incense, when it was the prerogative of the priests only." 

The same fact which is ascertained by the Altare Damascenum, 
is also established in the History of the Church of Scotland, by 
the same illustrious author. 1 

This matter is set at rest by the following communication, ad- 
dressed to Dr. Miller, by one of the most accomplished anti- 
quaries of the Church of Scotland, and which we take the liberty 
of transcribing, in order still more widely to give it circulation : 

" The first question is, 1 Did the Ruling Elders of the Church 
of Scotland, under the Second Book of Discipline, ever, in fact, 
lay on hands in the ordination of Pastors?' As the question re- 
fers to matter of fact, it is unnecessary to enter into any exami- 
nation of the Second Book of Discipline itself, which, in my 
humble opinion, gives no countenance to the notion that Ruling 
Elders should lay on hands in ordination, any more than that they 
should preach the sermon, or offer up the ordination prayer. In 

double honor allowed to him by the Apostle, doth abundantly determine the 
moderatorship in his favor." 

1 See Altare Damascenum, cap. xii. de administr. Laicis, p. 6S9, and in 
Dr. Miller, Office of Ruling Elders, p. 128. 



96 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



point of fact, I do not remember any instance in which such a 
practice was observed under the Second Book of Discipline ; 
and I have had frequent opportunities of examining, with this or 
similar objects in view, such works as Calderwood's Larger His- 
tory ; 4 The Book of the Universal Kirk-/ Scott's MSS. in the 
Advocate's Library, (in which he gives frequent notices of the 
election of Elders and Deacons, during both periods of the 
Reformation,) and the other documents of that period. 

" But the best way of arriving at satisfaction on this point is 
by consulting the writings of our Reformers, who have treated 
expressly of the subject. The first authority I may cite is that 
of the celebrated Alexander Henderson, in the treatise which it 
is well ascertained was written by him, and published in the year 
1641, two years before the Westminster Assembly sat down, en- 
titled ' The Government and Order of the Church of Scotland.' 
In this treatise, which was written for the information of the 
English, and contains minute details of the practice observed at 
ordinations, he says, section ii., when speaking of the ordination 
of Ministers — ' The Minister cometh from the Pulpit, and, with 
as many of the Ministers present as may conveniently come near, 
lay their hands upon his head, and in the name of Jesus, do ap- 
point him to be the pastor of that people.' 

" In another treatise, by the well known Samuel Rutherford, 
entitled, ' A Peaceable Plea for Paul's Presbytery in Scotland,' 
and published in 1642, the same fact is repeatedly brought out, 
and the practice defended on scriptural grounds, as well as the 
nature of the ministerial office. He says, ' Every where, in the 
word, where pastors and elders are created, there they are ordain- 
ed by Pastors.' p. 37. * Ordination of pastors is never given to 
people, or believers, or to Ruling Elders, but still to Pastors, as 
is clear from 1 Tim. 5 : 22 ; Titus 1:5; Acts 6:6; Acts 13 : 
3 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 6 ; 1 Tim. 4 : 14.' p. 190. In this treatise Ruther- 
ford argues on the principle that if believers, who are not pastors 
may ordain pastors, they may again depose and excommunicate, 
which, says he, e are the highest acts of jurisdiction ; and then 
may they preach and baptize, not being called ministers ; then 
may the Sacraments be administrate, where there are no pastors, 
which is absurd, even to the separatists themselves.' p, 57, 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



97 



" To these authorities I may be permitted to add that of James 
Guthrie, of Sterling, who, in his treatise of Eiders and Deacons, 
observes — 1 Hovvbeit the execution of some decrees of the Church 
Assemblies, such as the imposition of hands — the pronouncing 
the sentence of excommunication — the receiving penitents — the 
intimation of the deposition of Ministers, and such like, do be- 
long to Ministers alone.' Guthrie follows throughout the rules 
laid down in the first and second Books of Discipline. I am not 
aware that in the matter of ordination, there was the slightest 
variation made from the order of these books, after the Westmin- 
ster Assembly, which affected the point in question." 

We now come to the Westminster Assembly. Here the sub- 
ject of ruling elders gave origin to " many a brave dispute for 
ten days." Besides the Independents, " sundrie/' says Baillie, 1 
" of the ablest were flat against the institution of any such officer 
by divine right — such as Dr. Smith, Dr. Temple, Mr. Gataker, 
Mr. Vines, Mr. Price, Mr. Hall, and many more, beside the In- 
dependents, who truly spake much and exceedingly well. The 
most of the synod was in our opinion, and reasoned bravely for 
it; such as Mr. Seaman, Mr. Walker, Mr. Marshall, Mr. New- 
comen, Mr. Young, Mr, Calamy. Sundry times Mr, Hendersone, 
Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Gillespie, all three, spoke exceedingly well. 
When all were tired, it came to the question. There was no 
doubt but we would have carried it by far most voices ; yet be- 
cause the opposites were men very considerable, above all gracious 
and learned little Palmer, we agreed upon a committee to satisfy, 
if it were possible, the dissenters.' 5 

Again he adds, 2 " We have been in a pitiful labyrinth these 
twelve days, about Ruling Elders ; we yet stick into it." 

Again he says, 3 " We have, after very many days' debate, 
agreed, nemine contradicente, that beside ministers of the word, 
there is other ecclesiastic governours to join with the min- 
isters of the word in the government of the church ; that such 
are agreeable unto, and warranted by the word of God, especially 

1 Baillie's Letters and Journals. Edinb. 1841. vol. ii. p. 110. 

3 Do. do. p. 115. 

3 Do, do. pp. 116, 117. 



98 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



the 12th Rom. 8; 1 Cor. 12 : 28 ; that in the Jewish church, the 
Elders of the people did join in Ecclesiastic government with the 
Priests and Levites, according to 2 Chron. 19 : 8. How many 
and how learned debates we had on these things, in twelve or 
thirteen sessions from nine to half-past two, it were long to 
relate." 

iigain, speaking of Church Sessions, he says, 1 " For our ses- 
sions, a great party in the Synod, for fear of Ruling Elders, and 
in opposition to Independencie, will have no ecclesiastic court at 
all, but one Presbyterie for all the congregations within its 
bounds." 

It is thus manifest that the Westminster Assembly could not 
unite in affirming the divine institution of the office of Ruling 
Elders, and that they did not regard them as referred to in the 
passage in 1 Tim. 5: 17. In " the Grand Debate concerning 
Presbytery and Independency by the Assembly of Divines, 2 the 
language is, " the ministers and ruling governors," or " govern- 
ing officers," 3 and all that the Assembly could agree upon was, 
that " it is agreeable to, and warranted by the word of God, that 
some others besides the ministers of the word, or church gover- 
nors, should join with the ministers in the government of the 
church." 4 Such is the uniform language of " The Form of 
Government" issued by this Assembly, as may be seen by a refer- 
ence to it under the heads of " Officers of the Church," " Other 
Church Governors," " Of the Officers of a Particular Congrega- 
tion," " Of Classical Assemblies," and throughout the whole 
work ; and never on one occasion do they appropriate to such 
elders the passage in 1 Tim. 5: 17, or call them by the name 
there supposed to be given to such officers, viz. ruling elders. 
" Even the accommodation," observes Mr. Hetherington, 5 " by 
means of which these propositions were framed and carried, was 

1 Baillie's Letters and Journals. Edinb. 1841. vol. ii. p. 175. 

2 Our copy is in 3 vols. 4to, and contains the Papers for Accommodation 
and on other points. 

3 See Papers of Accommodation, p. 5. Lond. 1648. 

4 This was proved by Rom. 12: 7, 8, and 1 Cor. 12: 28, See He the r- 
ington's Hist., p. 169, Eng. ed, 

5 Do. do. 



I 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



99 



somewhat of a perilous experiment; for it narrowly missed in- 
troducing the unsound principle of admitting into the arrange- 
ments of the church what had no higher authority than considera- 
tions of expediency and prudence. For all were willing to have 
admitted the order of ruling elders on these grounds; but this 
was decidedly rejected, especially by the Scottish divines, and by 
those of the Puritans or English Presbyterians, who fully under- 
stood the nature of the controversy so long waged by their pre- 
decessors against admitting into a divine institution any thing of 
merely human invention." 

On the 9th of January, 1644, the whole question of ordina- 
tion was fairly stated by Dr. Temple, chairman of one of the 
committees, in the following series of interrogatory propositions : 
" 1. What ordination is ? 2. Whether necessarily to be con- 
tinued? 3. Who to ordain ? 4. What persons to be ordain- 
ed, and how qualified? 5. The manner how?" To these were 
appended the following answers for the Assembly's considera- 
tion : 1. Ordination is the solemn setting apart of a person to 
some public office in the church. 2. It is necessarily to be con- 
tinued in the church. 3. The apostles ordained, the evangel- 
ists did, preaching presbyters did ; because apostles and evangel- 
ists are officers extraordinary, and not to continue in the church ; 
and since, in Scripture, we find ordination in no other hands, 
we humbly conceive that the preaching presbyters are only to 
ordain." 

These propositions gave rise to a long and learned debate, 
which is published in a quarto volume, 1 and in which "the Dis- 
senting Brethren," that is, the Independents, affirmed, and the 
Presbyterians denied, the following proposition : 2 "Where there 
is a sufficient presbytery, all and sole power in ordination may 
be assumed, though association may be had ; but there may be a 
sufficient presbytery in a particular congregation." 

" The discussion of this question," says Light foot, "had been 
managed with the most heat and confusion of any thing that had 
happened among us:" and to defeat the proposition of the As- 

1 London. 1648. 

9 See Grand Debate, vol. i. p. 191. &c. 



100 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



sembly, namely, " That no single congregation, which may con- 
veniently join together in an association, may assume unto itself all 
and sole power of ordination/' they mustered all their adherents; 
and when, therefore, it is now alleged by any that the power of 
ordination rests in the eldership of a particular congrega- 
tion, and that ruling elders who are not ministers may ordain, 
we can be at no loss to perceive how perfectly they coincide 
with the Independents, and how openly they oppose the deliver- 
ance given by this Assembly, and by the universal testimony 
and practice of Presbyterian churches every where. 

The urgency with which the Assembly presents their views 
on this point in their published " Form of Government, "which is 
still in force in the Church of Scotland, and in all affiliated 
branches of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, Ireland, 
England, and America, is very remarkable. We have before 
us an original edition, printed in London. Under the head 
" Of Ordination of Ministers," it is said, " Every minister of 
the word is to be ordained by imposition of hands, and prayer, 
with fasting, by those preaching presbyters to whom it doth 
belong. 1 Tim. 5 : 22, Acts 14 : 23, and 13 : 3." 

Again, under the head, c< Touching the power of Ordina- 
tion," it is said, " Ordination is the act of a presbytery. 1 Tim. 
4 : 14." The power of ordering the whole work of ordination is 
in the whole presbytery, which, when it is over more congrega- 
tions than one, whether those congregations be fixed or not fixed, 
in regard of officers or members, it is indifferent as to the point of 
ordination. 1 Tim. 4 : 14. 

"The preaching presbyters, orderly associated, either in cities 
or neighboring villages, are those to whom the imposition of 
hands doth appertain for those congregations within their bounds 
respectively." 

Again, under the head of " The Doctrinal part of Ordina- 
tion of Ministers," (§ 4,) it is declared, " Every minister of the 
word is to be ordained by imposition of hands, and prayer, 
with fasting, by those preaching presbyters to whom it doth be- 
long. 1 Tim. 5 : 22, Acts 14 : 23, &, 13 : 3." 

And in § 10, " Preaching presbyters, orderly associated 
in cities or neighboring villages, are those to whom the im- 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



101 



position of hands doth appertain, for those congregations within 
their bounds respectively. 1 Tim. 4 : 17." 

Again, in "The Directory for Ordination of Ministers," after 
describing the order of service, it is added, (§ 7,) " Which be- 
ing mutually promised by the people, the presbytery, or the 
ministers sent from them for ordination, shall solemnly set him 
apart to the office and work of the ministry, by laying their 
hands on him, which is to be accompanied with a short prayer 
or blessing, to this effect." 

Nay, so scrupulous were they on this point, that in the rules 
they drew up to meet the emergency of the times, and the de- 
mand for a speedy way of ordination, they require that no one 
shall be ordained but " by some, who being set apart themselves 
for the work of the ministry, have power to join in the setting 
apart of others, who are found fit and worthy." 

Similar and as clear was the judgment of Calvin. 1 " The 
imposition of hands in the ordination of ministers is confined to 
pastors alone." With these views concurs the explicit teach- 
ing of the Reformed churches of France, as appears from their 
governments and discipline. 

On this point the learned antiquary, already quoted, says, 
"I am not aware of any Presbyterian body whose ruling elders 
are, or ever were, in the habit of imposing hands in the ordina- 
tion of ministers. The subject, I understand, has been agitated 
in the Presbyterian Churches of England and Ireland ; and Mr. 
Lorimer, of Glasgow, stated, in his late publication on the Elder- 
ship, that it is contemplated in the Irish Church, to set elders 
apart to their office in this way. But I do not recollect of ever 
hearing it mooted, in any quarter, to permit ruling elders to im- 
pose hands on ministers. The raising of such a question may 
be viewed in one respect as indicating the revival of a strong 
Presbyterian spirit, though somewhat in the Puseyite direction ; 
while, in another respect, it appears to me inconsistent with 
Presbyterianism, and verging towards Independency." 

Baxter offers five reasons why ruling elders should not or- 
dain, and why preachers or pastors alone should exercise this 



1 See Instit. lib. iv. c. iii. § 16. 



102 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



function. 1 Mr. Lazarus Seaman, who was a member of the 
Westminster Assembly, in his " Vindication," says, 2 " Of what 
consequence it is that ministers should keep up a peculiar in- 
terest of acting in the name of, and instead of Christ, by some- 
thing peculiar to themselves. " 

He quotes Zanchius as saying, 3 " It matters not whether 
hands be laid on by all the ministers who are present, or by one 
in the name of the rest." 

He also quotes the Leyden professors as saying, " Though 
the power of ordaining or confirming pastors (say they) belongs 
to the whole presbytery; yet of old the presbytery did execute 
that in the rite of laying on of hands, not so much by ruling 
elders as by pastors, who did especially attend on prophecy or 
explication of the Scripture, and application of it to the use of 
the faithful, unde prophetia cum manum impositione perquam olim 
Jiehat ordinatio pastorum, ah apostolo conjungitur. 1 Tim. 4:14. 
By this it appears they have a singular opinion of the word 
prophecy, not of the word presbytery ; for they plainly suppose 
the presbytery consisted of two sorts of elders, and yet that 
preaching elders only laid on hands. And well they might 
suppose that, (as doth your author so often cited, p. 171,) because 
much of prayer and teaching is to accompany the act of im- 
position, before and after." 

It will also be observed that the institution of ruling elders 
was opposed not only by the Independents, but by Dr. Temple, 
Dr. Smith, Mr. Gataker, Mr. Vines, Mr. Price, Mr. Hall, Mr. 
Lightfoot, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Palmer, and several others, who 
were not Independents. 4 Baxter affirms that " the greater part 
if not three to one" of the English ministers denied the divine 
institution of this office, among whom he was himself a very bold 
and open champion. 5 The Reformed churches of Hungary and 
Transylvania, while they regarded ruling elders as allowable, did 

1 Disputations on Ch. Gov't. Lond. 1659. p. 265-267. 

2 Lond. 1647. 4to. p. 67. 3 Ibid. p. 85. 

4 Hetherington, p. 168. Dr. Alexander's Hist, of, pp. 103, 217, 259. 

5 See Disput. on Ch. Gov't ; Pref. p. 4, and 265-267 ; and Works, vol. 
i. p. 94. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



103 



not introduce them into their own polity. 1 The French churches 
decided at the Synod of Charenton, in 1645, 2 " We agree the 
office of deacon is of divine appointment, and that it belongs to 
their office to receive, lay out, and distribute the church's stock 
to its proper use, by the direction of the pastor, and the 
brethren, if need be. And whereas divers are of opinion that 
there is also the office of ruling elders, who labor not in word 
and doctrine, and others think otherwise, we agree that this dif- 
ference make no breach among us." 

The Remonstrants 3 acknowledge only " bishops and eld- 
ers,"' who, "by preaching the gospel, by teaching wholesome or 
saving truth, by confuting errors contrary thereunto ; also by ex- 
horting, comforting, reproving, correcting, ruling, and lastly, by 
going before others, by their example, &,c, might preserve or keep 
together the churches already planted, and by a continual suc- 
cession, to their utmost power, might propagate the same. And 
they ordained deacons, that after they had been first proved or 
tried, they might diligently employ themselves, in gathering and 
distributing alms, and in pious and tender care-taking of the 
poor in the said congregations. " 

From this review of the sentiments of the Reformed churches, 
it would appear that they universally admitted the right of the 
Christian laity to a participation in the government of the church, 
to elect their own ministers and officers, and to appoint rulers 
who might act as their representatives in carrying out the disci- 
pline and government of Christ's church. This was the case 
not only in the Presbyterian churches, but also in the Anglican 
church, which alone retained the prelatical form. The clear and 
full opinions of Dr. Whitaker, Archbishop Whitgift, Archbishop 
Cranmer, Dean Nowell in his authorized catechism, the ap- 
proval given by Edward VI. and his clergy to the order of the 
French church formed in London by John A-Lasco, and also 
of Thorndike and Dr. John Edwards, have been given in their 



1 Voetiu3 } Poiit. Eccl. torn. iii. p. 459. 

Quick's Syndicon, vol. i. p. 229, and vol. ii. p. 472. 
3 Confession or Declaration of ; Lond 1676, pp. 225, 226. 



104 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



own words by Dr. Miller and others. 1 And the reason why an 
office so approved by the English reformers and divines, was not 
adopted in its practice, is given by Bishop Burnet. He informs 
us that many learned and pious divines, in the beginning of 
Queen Elizabeth's reign, had observed the new models set up in 
Geneva and other places, for the censuring of scandalous persons, 
.by mixed judicatories of ministers and laity ; and these, reflecting 
on the great looseness of life which had been universally com- 
plained of in King Edward's time, thought such a platform might 
be an effectual way for keeping out a return of the like disorders. 
But certain wise politicians of that age demonstrated to the 
Q,ueen that these models would certainly bring with them a great 
abatement of her prerogative; since, if the concerns of religion 
came into popular hands, there would be a power set up distinct 
from hers, over which she could have no authority." 2 And that 
this opinion still prevails in the English church we might prove 
from many sources. We quote, however, the opinion of Arch- 
bishop Whately. 3 

It may be needful to add, that if in a church thus constituted, 
or in any other, the laity are admitted to a share in the govern- 
ment of it, and to ecclesiastical offices, this would be, not only 
allowable, but wise and right. That laymen — that is, those 
who hold no spiritual office — should take part in legislating 
for the church, and should hold ecclesiastical offices, as in the 
Scotch kirk, and in the American Episcopalian church, (always 
supposing, however, that they are members of the church ; not 
as in this country, belonging to other communions,) is far better 
than that the whole government should be in the hands of men 

1 See on the Eldership, ch. iii. p. 42. See Eng. ed. ch. vi. p. 105 ; do. ch. 
vii. pp. 128, 133. See Jameson's Cyprianus Isotinus, ch. vi. p. 505, &c. See, 
also, Sara via on the Priesthood. 

2 Burnet's Hist, of the Reformation, preface to the second volume of Nare's 
edition, pp. 24, 25. 

3 See Kingdom of Christ, p. 285, Eng. ed. Dr. Hinds' opinion in his Hist, 
of the Rise and Progress of Christianity, has been already given. See, also, 
Christianity Independent of the Civil Gov't, p. 105. Spiritual Despotism, pp. 
200, 205, 208, 210, 156, 199. See Eng. ed. Warburton's Alliance of Church 
and State, p. 197, Mem. of Prot. Ep . Ch. p. 79. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



105 



of one profession, the clerical. That this has nothing of an 
Erastian character, it would be unnecessary to mention, but 
that I have seen the observation — in itself perfectly true — made 
in such a manner as to imply what is not true ; i. e., so as to im- 
ply that some persons do, or may, maintain that there is some- 
thing of Erastianism in such an arrangement. But who ever 
heard of any such charge being brought ? Who, for instance, 
ever taxed the Scotch kirk, or the American Episcopalian, with 
being Erastian, on account of their having lay-elders ? Erastian- 
ism lias always been considered as consisting in making the State, 
as such — the civil magistrate by virtue of his office — prescribe to 
the people what they shall believe, and how worship God. 

The Episcopal church in this country at the time of its con- 
stitution gave very emphatic proof of its adherence to this fea- 
ture of primitive and reformed Presbyterian discipline, bv 
adopting, in some limited measure, the sentiments of its founder, 
Bishop White, and not those of Bishop Seabury, its first corrup- 
ter, and the first in the line of succession in the order of Puseyite 
high-churchmen. The introduction of the laity into all their 
councils. Bishop White urged on the following ground •/ From 
what he has read of primitive usage, he thinks it evident that in 
very early times, when every church, that is, the Christian peo- 
ple in every city and convenient district round it, was an eccle- 
siastical commonwealth, with all the necessary powers of self-gov- 
ernment, the body of the people had a considerable share in its 
determinations. The same sanction which the people gave ori- 
ginally in a body, they might lawfully give by representation. 
In reference to very ancient practice, it would be an omission not 
to take notice of the council of Jerusalem, mentioned in the loth 
chapter of the Acts. That the people were concerned in the 
transactions of that body, is granted generally by Episcopalian 
divines. Something has been said, indeed, to distinguish be- 
tween the authoritative act of the apostles, and the concurring 
act of the lay brethren ; and Archbishop Potter, in support of this 
distinction, corrects the common translation, on the authority of 

1 Memoirs of the Prot. Ep. Ch. pp. 76.. 77. On what grounds Bishop Sea- 
bury opposed it may be seen at p. 344, &c. } of do. 

G* 



106 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



some ancient!manuscripts, reading (Acts 15 : 23) " elders breth- 
ren," a similar expression, he thinks, to " men brethren, " in 
chapter 2 : 29, where the and is evidently an interpolation, to 
suit the idiom of the English language. It does not appear, that 
our best commentators, either before or since the time of Arch- 
bishop Potter, have followed his reading. Mills prefers, and 
Griesbach rejects it. The passage, even with the corrections, 
amounts to what is pleaded for — the obtaining of the consent of 
the laity — which must have accompanied the decree of Jerusa- 
lem, nothing less being included in the term " multitude," who 
are said to have " kept silence;" and in that of " the whole 
church," of whom, as well as of the apostles and elders, it is said, 
that " it pleased" them to institute the recorded mission. On no 
other principle than that here affirmed, can there be accounted 
for many particulars introduced in the apostolic epistles. The 
matters referred to are subjects, which, on the contrary suppo- 
sition, were exclusively within the province of the clergy, and 
not to be acted on by the churches, to whom the epistles are re- 
spectively addressed." Bishop White's views are fully develop- 
ed in his " Case of the Episcopal Churches considered," and to 
which in the above work and to the very end of life he express- 
ed his unshaken adherence. 1 In this work he gives the outline 
of a form of government, evidently suggested by the form and 
order of our Presbyterian courts with their clerical and lay dele- 
gates. 2 So that whatever popular representation is now enjoyed by 
this church, is literally and truly adopted from the Presbyterian 
church, which had been established long before it in this coun- 
try. 3 By the veto, however, given to the bishop, and the vote by 
orders, which enables a majority of the clergy to outvote all the 
laity — the popular representation of the Episcopal church is but 
in name, and amounts to nothing in reality. 

The fact is as plainly authenticated that all the Puritans from 
Cartwright downwards, and all the Independents until a recent 

1 See Lectures on the Apost. Suec. pp. 411, and 412, and Mem. of Prot. Ep. 
Ch. p. 81. 

2 See ch. ii. and quotations given in the above. 

3 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 538, &c. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



107 



date, agreed upon the same general principles, and had ruling 
elders in their churches. 1 

1 See Dr. Miller, as above, where their Platforms and Confessions and 
standard writers are all quoted. 

A large proportion, at least, of the first settlers of New England regarded 
the office of Ruling Elders as of Divine institution, and appealed to 1 Cor. 12 : 
28, and 1 Tim. 5 : 17, as warranting this persuasion. The title of these offi- 
cers is descriptive of their rank and work in the church. They were Elders, 
in common with the Pastor and Teacher : and as it was their duty to assist 
the teaching officers or officer in ruling, or conducting the spiritual affairs of 
the church, (in admitting,, for instance., or excluding members, inspecting their 
lives and conversations, preventing or healing offences, visiting the sick, and 
administering occasionally a word of admonition or exhortation to the congre- 
gation,) they obtained the name of Ruling Elders. Whereas, Pastors and 
Teachers, by way of distinction, were sometimes called Teaching Elders, be- 
cause it was eminently their duty to teach, or minister the word. 

Ruling Elders were anciently ordained, (see Notes, Cambridge Ch.) and 
were sometimes addressed by the appellation of Reverend. In a letter, for in- 
stance, of Rev. Sol. Stoddard, communicating his acceptance of the call of the 
church at Northampton to be their pastor, the Ruling Elder, to whom it was 
addressed, was styled, the " Rev. John Strong," &e. The place of the Ruling 
Eiders in the congregation was an elevated seat, between the Deacon's seat and 
the pulpit. They seem to have been more generally employed, and longer re- 
tained in the churches of New England, than teachers were, as distinct from 
Pastors. The Old South Church, Boston, for example, had never a Teacher, 
in the distinctive sense of the term ; but at its foundation had its Ruling Elder, 
Mr. Rainsford, ordained at the same time with its first Pastor, Mr. Thacher. 
In the First Church, Boston, Ruling Elders were continued at least to the death 
of Elder Copp, in 1713 ; in York, Me., till the death of Elder Sewall, in 1769, 
and perhaps longer : in First Church, Ipswich, till after 1727; and in the 
Second Church of that town, Chebacco Parish, now Essex, till the death of 
Elder Crafts, in 1790. In Salem, the office was sustained for a great length of 
time ; and can hardly be said to have yet become extinct. In the First Church 
in that city, which had Ruling Elders at its foundation, in 1629, choice was 
made of one to fill that office in 1782. In the Third Church, there was an 
election to the same office, then recently vacated by death in 17S3. And in 
the North Church, which had had Ruling Eiders from its beginning, the late 
venerable Dr. Holyoke was appointed one in 1783, and Hon. Jacob Ashton in 
1626. 

In the county of Middlesex, eight churches appear to have had Ruling El- 
ders ; and of these eight, two afterwards removed beyond it. In the meeting- 
house, in South Reading, built about 1744, there was an Elder's seat, till re- 
moved in 1837 ; but it is not known to have been ev^r occupied by the appro- 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS 



While, however, all the Reformed churches did thus agree in 
justifying the concurrence of the people in the government of 
the cJiurch, they appear evidently to have abstained from any 
such title as would identify their representatives even in name, 

priate officer. In August, 1630, the church of Charlestown, now First Church, 
Boston, chose Mr. Increase Nowell as its Ruling Elder, but he resigned in 1632, 
after he had been elected Secretary of the Colony — it being decided incompati- 
ble to hold both offices at the same time. In the present First Church, Charles- 
town, there was, according to Johnson, one Ruling Eider at the time he wrote, 
1651. This was doubtless Elder Green, who kept the Church Records till hi3 
death, about 1658 ; and he seems to have had no successor in office. Elder 
Brown of Watertown Church, gathered in 1630 ; and Elder Goodwin of the 
Church gathered at Cambridge, 1633, and removed to Hartford, Ct., 1636, 
were both prominent characters in some of the theological questions and con- 
troversies of their day. 

The present First Church, Cambridge, gathered in 1636, chose Ruling Ei- 
ders at the beginning, and retained them above sixty years. The Ruling El- 
der of First Church, Concord, gathered in 1636, is noted for the " unhappy dis- 
cord " which he occasioned in that church, and the trouble which he caused the 
teacher, Mr. Bulkeley, which maybe the reason why, after the Elder's " abdica- 
tion," no successor appears to have been appointed. In First Church, Newton, 
Thomas Wiswall, (styled in Cambridge Town Records, Rev. Thomas Wis- 
wall,) was ordained a Ruling Elder in 1664, at the ordination of its first pas- 
tor. And finally, in the church at Hopkinson, gathered in 1724, two Ruling 
Elders were ordained in 1732. But in this church, it is believed, and in all the 
above churches in this county, the office has long been extinct. The following 
is a notice of the death of a Ruling Elder, who was probably the last to sustain 
the office in the church of Cambridge. " Lord's day, January 14, 1699-1700. 
Elder Jonas Clarke of Cambridge dies ; a good man in a good old age, and one 
of my first and best Cambridge friends. He quickly follows the great patron of 
Ruling Elders, Tho. Danforth, Esq. 

Proposals were made in 1727, but without success, to revive the office of 

Ruling Elders in the Old South Church, Boston. " 1727, March 31, 

Propos'd to the Chh. to take it into yr Consideration whether the Scripture did 
not direct to the choice of Ruling Elders — nam'd yt text, 1 Tim. v. 17. Ld. 
shew us yy mind and will in ys matter." A like attempt for the same purpose 
was made shortly after in the New Brick Church, now Second Church, Boston. 
" In 1735, after much debate, it was determined to have two Ruling Elders in 
the church ; an office which has become almost obsolete, and which after this 
attempt to revive it, sunk for ever." . . " This matter of the Ruling Elders 
was debated at numerous church meetings, from March 17, 1735 to Novem- 
ber 11, 1737 ; at which time only one person (Deacon James Halsy) had been 
found to accept'the office, and the church at last voted not to choose another.' 
— Am. Quarterly Register. 



ON THE ELDERSHIP. 



109 



with the ministers of the word. Some distinctive appellation was 
therefore chosen, such as " assistants," which was the term in 
use among the English Puritans as late as the year 1606. 1 And 
as the titles of bishop, pastor, and minister, came to be used as 
the official and regular names for preachers of the gospel, the 
word elder, as the translation of the Latin word senior, was ap- 
propriated to the representative of the people. But it was ne- 
cessary to justify the office from Scripture, and as the passage 
in 1 Tim. 5 : 17, appeared, when translated by the term elders 
instead of presbyters', to designate two kinds of elders, the term 
ruling elder came to be very generally used as an appropriate 
title for these assistants or seniors. Nor do we now object to 
the name, inasmuch as both the word elder and the word ruling 
are now understood only in their adopted and conventional 
meaning, and not in their Scriptural and derivative sense. The 
term elder is grave and honorable, and well suited to express 
the character and estimation in which its possessor should be 
held ; while the epithet ruling as happily denotes the duty to 
which he is appointed. But when we refer to the passage on 
which the name is founded, and by which it is sustained, nothing 
could be more unfortunate than such an appropriation of its 
terms. For as we have seen, the one word tiqs(j@vt£qoi, i. e. pres- 
byters, is never used in the New Testament, or in the fathers, 
for any other officer than the one who might preach and admin- 
ister sacraments ; while the other term ngosaToog (proestos), i. e. 
presiding, alludes to an official duty in the public congregation, 
to which the ruling elder has never been deemed competent. 
And it is therefore our opinion that had this passage been ren- 
dered as it ought to be in accordance with the usage of Scrip- 

1 About the year 1606, Mr. Bradshaw published a small treatise, entitled, 
" English Puritanism, containing the main opinions of the rigidest sort of those 
that went by that name in the realm of England," which Dr. Ames translated 
into Latin for the benefit of foreigners. As to government, this treatise says, 
" They hold that by God's ordinance the congregation should choose other offi- 
cers as assistants to the ministers in the government of the church, who are 
jointly, with the ministers, the overseers of the manners and conversation of all 
the congregation, and that these are to be chosen out of the gravest and most 
discreet members, who are also of some note in the world, and able, if possible, 
to maintain themselves." Neal,vo\. i. p. 434, 



110 



VIEWS OF THE REFORMERS, ETC. 



ture — " Let the presbyters who preside'' over fixed and organ- 
ized churches, and minister to them in word and doctrine, " be 
counted worthy of double honor, but especially those presby- 
ters who act as evangelists," in carrying that " word and doc- 
trine " into frontier and destitute regions, — the use of the title 
" ruling elder " in its present sense, never would have been sug- 
gested, and all the confusion and obscurity which have been 
thrown around the question of the nature and duties of the office 
for ever prevented. 



CHAPTER V. 



On the permanency of the office of Ruling Elder. 

The Parmasim, or lay senate in the synagogue, whose au- 
thority and office is, in some respects, similar to that of the 
session, hold their office but for one year, being annually chosen 
by the free voice of the people. 1 The sidesmen and other lay 
representatives of the people in the ancient British churches, 
were also, as we have seen, temporary officers. Such also were 
they who were anciently admitted to sit in councils. And when 
the reformers revived and reestablished the order of the church 
courts, presbyteries, synods, and assemblies, with lay representa- 
tives as component members of them all, these officers were, in 
all cases, of a temporary character, and reelected from year to 
year. Such was the case in Geneva, 2 and such continues to be 
the case in that church until the present time. 3 Such was the 
case also in Scotland during the continuance of the Book of 
Common Order, and the First Book of Discipline. The same plan 
was adopted by all the Reformed churches on the continent; in 
some cases the election of elders being annual, and in others for 
a longer period. 4 

This plan, however, has been disapproved by our own 
church, which has stamped the same perpetuity and sacredness 

1 Bernard's Synagogue, p. 38. 

2 The Laws and Statutes of Geneva, p. 6. 

3 Heugh's Religion in Geneva and Belgium, pp. 10, 11. 

4 Dr. Miller on the office of Ruling Elder, 1844, p. 118. De Moor's Com- 
ment. Perpet. torn. vi. p. 330, and Spanheim, ibid. 



112 



ON THE PERMANENCY OF THE 



upon the office of ruling elder which it attaches to the ministry. 
It pronounces it to be u perpetual, and not to be laid aside at pleas- 
ure, 5 ' and that " no person can be divested of it but by deposi- 
tion." Now against this arrangement we contend, and to this 
language also we object, and the order here laid down we believe 
to be inexpedient, and unscriptural in its character and injurious 
in its results. 

This order is unscriptural. There is no warrant, either in 
Scripture precept, apostolic practice, or primitive usage, for such 
an arrangement. The brethren who sat in the council of 
Jerusalem, " the helps and the governments," and the lay-of- 
ficers of the early churches, were, as far as we can gather from 
what is said in Scripture, and from the policy of the synagogue, 
temporary. Nor have we seen any thing in the history of the 
church to countenance the opposite opinion. A perpetual elder- 
ship is also contrary to the very principle upon which the Re- 
formers based its authority, namely, the truth that (as Luther 
words it) " all Christians belong to the spiritual state," and 
have an inherent and unalienable right to cooperate in the gov- 
ernment of the church, and to hold ecclesiastical offices. The 
Christian laity, therefore, as God's " clergy " are to exercise 
their liberty, under a sense of responsibility to Christ, and in 
accordance with the rules of his word, in choosing their own 
pastors, and in electing and in appointing their own representa- 
tives. The church is a spiritual commonwealth, and all its offi- 
cers, while their office, dignity, and rights are sacred by divine 
appointment, are chosen by the church, are responsible to the 
church, and may, and ought to be removable from office by the 
church, acting through its properly constituted organs. Es- 
pecially and preeminently ought this to be the case with " ruling 
elders," which are, as our standards teach, "properly the repre- 
sentatives of the people, chosen by them." Now by attaching 
inviolability and permanency to the office, this character and ob- 
ject of the office is practically destroyed, since the great body of 
any church may, and often do live and die without having any 
opportunity to " choose representatives," and this too, even 
while they may feel very sensibly that they are misrepresented by 
the existing elders, and that the government and discipline of the 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



113 



church is altogether neglected or abused by them. The liberty 
and birthright of the Christian people are thus seriously cur- 
tailed, and their rights of spiritual citizenship practically abro- 
gated and annulled. The republican and representative charac- 
ter of the church is in this way denied. The free, open, and 
popular design of our institutions, is also exchanged for a close 
corporation which cannot be changed, and which, at the same 
time, can perpetuate itself. Christian freemen, therefore, have a 
ricrht from time to time to express their opinion in a Christian 
spirit, and under the direction of Christian rules, of their dele- 
gated representatives ; and either to continue or to displace those 
who may have been found inefficient or unworthy. 

But it may be said that these objections will apply equally to 
the ministers who, though elected by the people, are not remova- 
ble by them, at pleasure. But we think differently. For, prac- 
tically, the people can remove their minister and secure the 
services of one under whom they may be more benefited. And 
as ministers are not the officers of any one church, nor limited to 
anv one territory, they can still continue in their office ; and 
while objectionable to one particular church, still discharge the 
functions of the ministry to the spiritual benefit of others. But 
the ruling elder is the officer only of that church by which he has 
been elected, and he is fixed and permanent in his residence and 
location. And therefore, in his case there is a perfect contrast 
to the condition of the minister, since he is necessitated to re- 
tain his office when no longer fit for it or acceptable in it, and, 
since the people are required to regard and treat as an elder the 
man who has no longer any claims on account of any duties he 
can render, (or it may be, he ever has rendered) to either their 
respect or their gratitude. This case, therefore, is perfectly 
anomalous and unreasonable. 1 

And where, we again ask, does Scripture warrant the pre- 
latical notion that there is an inviolable and immutable sacred- 
ness, or something, attached to " the office " of a ruling elder 

1 In the Reformed Churches of France, (see Form of Discipline, Can. si. in 
Quick's Synodicon, vol. i. p. 19.) the ministry was declared to be for life, " un- 
less they be lawfully discharged upon good and certain conditions.*' 



114 



ON THE PERMANENCY OF THE 



apart from the officer himself? 1 What is the nature of this mys- 
terious abstraction ? Where does this invisible grace reside ? — 
and when — where — and how — is it imparted ? Where does Scrip- 
ture teach us that a man may be incapable of holding an eccle- 
siastical office, and of discharging any of its duties, and yet that 
his office is nevertheless perpetual and cannot be laid aside? 
Surely we may search Scripture in vain for any such quiddity 
as this, which clothes its possessor with a secret charm and char- 
acter, like our civil dignitaries of Colonel and of General, which 
the service of a single month may wreath around the brows of 
their honorable possessors for a long lifetime. Oh yes, we must 
go elsewhere among the misty and smoky closets of mediaeval 
casuistry, to discover the true original source of this wonderful 
grace ; and it ill becomes those who scout the whole assumption 
as the baseless fabric of a vision, and the concerted legend of 
monkish mysticism, to authenticate the truth of the dogma, and 
practically exhibit to the world such inexcusable inconsistency. 

Nor is this arrangement less inexpedient than it is unscrip- 
tural. No man " can be divested of the office of elder but by 
deposition," and yet " he may become through age or infirmity 
incapable of discharging the duties of his office/' and " from 
any other cause incapable of serving the church to edification !" 
Can such an arrangement as this be proper, becoming, edifying, 
or desirable ? What is gained ? We can see nothing but that 
indescribable and undiscernible something or nothing of which 
we have spoken. And what is hazarded and lost? Much, every 
way. The dignity and high character of the office is lost ; for 
this consists not in any ecclesiastical appointment, but in the 
respect, confidence, and affection of the people. And how can 
they cherish such feelings towards those in whose election the 
great majority have had no choice ; over whose continuance they 
have none of them any power or check or control ; and whom 
they have not even the privilege of requesting from time to time 
to continue to render to them their duly estimated services? 
How poor is the encouragement, and how cheerless the reflec- 

1 When it was declared that ordination to ecclesiastical office " imprimit 
characterem indelibilem," may be seen in Binius, torn. viii. p. 425, and Mou- 
rius De Sacris Eccl. Ordinibus, passim. 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



115 



tions of a ruling elder who has no evidence of the free and hearty 
good will of his constituents, compared w 7 ith the man who is 
urged to continue in his office from time to time by the approving 
votes of his respected brethren ! The minister has this high, in- 
spiriting, and ennobling feeling, for he knows that by the con- 
tinued kindness and reciprocated feelings of his people, he is 
useful and honored by them, and esteemed very highly in love 
for his work's sake ; and when he perceives that it is otherwise, 
he can seek some other field, where God may open to him a wide 
and effectual door. 

By our present arrangement, the motives to zeal and useful- 
ness in the work of the eldership are, in a great degree, de- 
stroyed. The elected elder, being no longer directly responsible 
to the people, or dependent upon them for continuance in office, 
is led by all the evil tendencies of our corrupt nature, to fold his 
arms in indolence, to sit down and take his ease in Zion, and to 
do no more than his convenience or absolute necessity requires. 
We appeal to the state of our church sessions every where for 
illustrations of this melancholy truth, and we allege the very 
common (though thank God by no means universal) inefficiency 
and inactivity of the eldership, and their unwillingness to enter 
upon any field of self-denying Christian effort, as lamentable proof 
of the truth of our position. But were elders elected for a time, 
and made reeiigible to office, the office would at once rise in its 
practical interest and importance; the minds of the people 
would be more frequently directed towards it ; and the minds of 
the elders more constantly directed towards the interests of the 
people, and thus be led, under the impulse of every high and 
stimulating principle, to be steadfast and immovable, and always 
abounding in the work of the Lord. 

By the present arrangement we lose also the power of recti- 
fying mistakes in judgment, and of removing from the office of 
the eldership men who have committed no crime which can 
be clearly proved against them, or even charged upon them, 
and who may be in the judgment of charity regarded as 
pious, and yet who have proved themselves unfit for the ac- 
ceptable discharge of the office by their imprudence, their 
inert inefficiency, their want of gifts, their growing coldness and 



I 16 ON THE PERMANENCY OF THE 



formality, their neglect of the Sabbath and week day services 
of the sanctuary, or from any other cause. As it now is, such 
men, and often too with the greatest tenacity, hang like mill- 
stones about the neck of a church; form prominent, stumbling 
blocks in the way of sinners ; and act like a drag upon the 
wheels of the church, in every attempt at spiritual and benevolent 
enterprise. 

By the present arrangement also we lose the services of many 
of the very best and most capable members of our church, who 
would, under an opposite arrangement, be found ready to enter 
upon the office of the eldership. As it is, they are so engrossed 
with necessary engagements, or so diffident and modest, or so 
affrighted by the prospect of a life of engagement, and by the 
mysterious awe which is made to surround the very character of 
"the office" — or so reluctant to enter into a permanent associa- 
tion with the existing members of the session, as to be un- 
willing to enter upon its discharge at all. The consequence is, 
that in some cases the least capable are the most certain to be 
inducted to this office, because they alone, perhaps, can be in- 
duced to accept of the office. And thus, it is sometimes seen, 
that the man who cannot or does not manage properly his own 
business, or his own family, and who is as unstable as water, is 
set up to manage the affairs of Christ's household, and to sit as 
a prince upon the throne of spiritual judgment. But were the 
office temporary, say biennial or triennial, the persons we have 
described could be induced to make trial of their gifts and of 
their fitness for the work, and if found acceptable and useful, be 
encouraged to continue their zealous and valuable services, and 
to lend their name, their character, and their example, to the 
moral influence and power of the session. 

Neither can it be said that the corruptions of the Genevan, 
French, or any other Reformed churches, have resulted from the 
temporary nature of this office. There is nothing to warrant 
such an inference, any more than the inference of prelatists 
and Romanists from the same facts, against our doctrines and 
order generally. No ! the evil in these churches lay in allowing 
these officers to be appointed by the State, and to be therefore 
men of whose protestantism and genuine piety there was no evi- 



OFFICE OF RULING ELDER. 



117 



dence either sought or given ; — and from excluding them alto- 
gether from the supreme councils of the church. It was this 
Erastian character of the Reformed churches — their alliance 
with the State, their adaptation to the civil constitution, their 
consequent tendency to seek for worldly honor, respectability, 
and favor ; their neglect to establish and enforce discipline alto- 
gether, cr their procrastination until its effective administration 
became impossible, 1 and the necessary withholdment and gradual 
corruption of the doctrines of the gospel — these were the true 
sources of this lamentable decay. And had the spiritual quali- 
fications of their eldership been enforced, and their election 
retained in the hands of the members of the church ; had they 
been admitted upon credible evidence of their piety, and the 
efficiency of church discipline been sustained ; then, and in that 
case, we think the temporary character of the office would have 
given life, and zeal, and continued energy to the church. 

1 See a most affecting and learned exhibition of this truth by Comenius in 
his Exhortation to the Churches of Bohemia, and to the Churches of England, 
London, 1661, 4to. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Of the Ordination of Ruling Elders by imposition of hands ; and their coopera- 
tion in ordination. 

The determination of both these questions depends in a'great 
degree, as a matter of right and propriety, upon the questions al- 
ready considered — and as the office of the eldership has been in- 
variably regarded as temporary in its character until compara- 
tively recent times, and still is so in the largest part of Reformed 
Christendom, and in the private judgment of a growing number 
even within those churches which have made it permanent, — the 
inference seems plain that the weight of opinion is against the 
propriety of ordaining them by imposition of hands. The fact 
therefore is, that they never have been so ordained except in this 
country, where the practice, though not sanctioned by our Stand- 
ards, has been introduced by Dr. Miller, in accordance with his 
view of the nature and origin of the office. The same writer con- 
sulted by Dr. Miller, and already quoted, says : ] " On this point 
the evidence I think is equally clear that ruling elders were not 
then, and never have been set apart to their office by imposition 
of hands." In a treatise formerly mentioned, Alexander Hender- 
son, when treating of elders and deacons, says, — " When the 
day of their admission corneth, the pastor having framed his doc- 
trine to the purpose, calleth them up and remembering both them 
of their duty in their charge, and the people of their submitting 

1 Office of the Ruling Elder, p. 134. See, also, The Divine Right of Ch. 
Gov't, p. 270, Quick's Synodicon, vol. i. p. 229. 



OF THE ORDINATION OF RULING ELDERS, ETC. 



119 



themselves unto them, they are solemnly received with lifted up 
hands, giving their promise to be faithful." Mr. James Guthrie 
in his treatise says, " Their admission is to be by the minister of 
the congregation, or one appointed by the presbytery, in the pres- 
ence of the whole congregation, with the preaching of the word," 
&c. On this subject Dr. Miller himself is very candid. "And yet," 
says he,' " nothing is more certain than that, since the Reforma- 
tion from Popery, when the use of this office was almost univer- 
sally revived, the mode of conducting its investiture by the impo- 
sition of hands has been almost every where omitted. When this 
formality began to be omitted, and for what reason, are questions 
for the solution of which we do not possess definite information. 
What the practice of the Waldenses, and other pious witnesses 
of the truth during the dark ages, who uniformly maintained the 
office of Ruling Elder, during all their hardships and persecu- 
tions, was, cannot now, so far as I know, be certainly deter- 
mined." At what period in the history of the Church of Scot- 
land it was that the annual election of elders was laid aside and 
the office made permanent, is not with absolute certainty known. 
The Rev. Mr. Lorimer, in his late valuable treatise on the Elder- 
ship in the Church of Scotland, supposes it to have been about 
the year 1642, a short time before the meeting of the Westminster 
Assembly. But so great was the force of habit, that notwith- 
standing this change in the tenure of the office, the old method 
of ordination has been continued in Scotland to this day, and 
was brought by our fathers to this country, where it continued 
without change until 1S09, when for the first time it is believed, 
in the Presbyterian world, the practice of laying on hands in the 
ordination of elders was introduced, but has not yet become 
general in our church ; and so far as the present writer knows, 
is entirely confined to the United States. 

If, therefore, ruling elders never have been ordained by impo- 
sition of hands, and the tenure of the office has been so univer- 
sally temporary, how can it enter into the heart of any man to 
conceive that they could properly impose hands in the ordination 



1 Onire of the Ruling Elder, p. 114. 



120 



OP THE ORDINATION OF RULING ELDERS 



of ministers ? This is one of Baxter's arguments : " And how came 
they," says he, " to have power to ordain others," as the Inde- 
pendents, against whom he reasons, alleged, " and are not ordain- 
ed themselves, but are admitted upon bare election?" 1 The 
evidence on this subject drawn from Scripture and the testimony 
of the fathers and reformers has been already given at length, and 
is, we think/sufficient to prove that they confined the terms bishop 
and presbyter, at least in their strict and official character as ti- 
tles of office, to the pastor ; and that they also limited to them the 
power of ordination as well as of preaching, administering sa- 
craments, and presiding in the church and in its councils. We 
will only therefore add in this place one or two additional testi- 
monies which have occurred to us in our reading. 

Calderwood in his " Pastor and Prelate," published in 1628, 
says, 2 " The Pastor findeth it to be so far against the word of God 
to claim any authority over his brethren, that albeit there be a 
divine order in the Kirk, whereby there is one kind of ministry, 
both ordinary and extraordinary, in degree and dignity before 
another, as the apostle before all others, the pastor before the 
elder and deacon, yet he can find no minister, ordinary or ex- 
traordinary, that hath any majority of power over other inferior 
ministers of another kind, — as the pastor over the elder and dea- 
con, far less over other ministers of the same kind, as the pastor 
or bishop over the pastor. 3 

" The pastor with his fellow presbyters, as he is put in trust 
with the preaching of the word and ministration of the sacra- 
ments, HATH RECEIVED ALSO OF CHRIST THE POWER OF ORDI- 
NATION of pastors, where presbytery, 4 never used in the New 

1 Dissert, on Ch. Gov't, p. 167. 

2 The First Part, 6 and 8. 

3 By Scripture, no apostle hath power over another apostle, nor evangelist 
over another evangelist, nor eider over another elder, nor deacon over another 
deacon ; but all are equal. 

4 1 Tim. 4: 14. Neither doth the apostle deny that to presbyters which 
he did himself with them, and which he ascribeth to Timothy. 1 Tim. 5 : 22. 
2 Tim. 1 : 6. Neither the prelate himself denieth the power of ordination to 
the presbyter, but the exercise of the power which he arrogateth to himself. 
Ordinat. Deus per ecclesiam, ordinat. ecclesia per presbyterium per episcopos, 
et past ores suos ; sttiguB conferunt irfunum quae sua sunt. — Jun.animad. 1187. 



BY IMPOSITION OP HANDS, ETC. 



121 



Testament to signify the office of priesthood or order of a 
presbyter, can be no other thing but the persons or company 
of pastors laying on their hands, and that not only for consent, 
but for consecration, of which number any one may pronounce 
the words of blessing. We will now introduce a quotation 
which will be at the same time an argument. It is from that 
celebrated work, " JusDivinum Ministerii Evangelici," written by 
" the Provincial Assembly of London" in the year 1654, and di- 
rected principally against the Independents. They ask, 1 " What 
part hath the Ruling Elder in ordination ? Supposing that there is 
such an officer in the church, (for the proof of which we refer the 
reader to our vindication,) we answer that the power of ordering 
of the whole work of ordination belongs to the whole presbytery, 
that is, r to the teaching and ruling Elders. But imposition of 
hands is to be always by preaching presbyters, and the rather be- # 
cause it is accompanied with prayer and exhortation, both before, 
in, and after, which is the proper work of the teaching Elder;" 
and in Part Second they argue this question still more at 
length. 2 

We might multiply quotations, but cannot avoid presenting 
one other. It is from a very curious and able work by the Rev. 
Thomas Ball, " sometime fellow of Emmanuel College in Cam- 
bridge, now minister of the gospel in Northampton, at the re- 
quest and by the advice of very many of his neighbor ministers," 
entitled " Pastorum Propugnaculum, or the Pulpit's Patronage 
against the force of unordained usurpation and invasion," print- 
ed at London in 1656. After discussing at length the nature of 
ordination, and who should administer it, he adds, 3 " They should 
be ' head officers;' Paul was a head officer, yet hath a hand in 
Timothys ordination, as we have showed before. The lowest 
that we read of were prophets and teachers in the church at An- 
tioch ; in that Presbytery that Paul speaks of, it is very like there 
were Apostles; for Peter, none of the meanest, thinks not himself 

J Part L p. 182. 

2 Part II. pp. 96-98. 

3 Lond. 4to. pp. 344. See p. 234, 235, 



122 



OF THE ORDINATION OF RULING ELDERS 



too good to be a Presbyter — ' The elders which are among you, I 
exhort, who am also an elder 5 — that is, a Presbyter, and it is no 
wonder that the highest did attend it, for it is the highest work, 
a consecrating or devoting one unto the highest honor and em- 
ployment in the church, the matching and espousing one to Je- 
sus Christ, the putting of one's hand unto the plow, from which 
he never must look back again ; that there are orders and de- 
grees of officers appears, because the well using of the office of a 
deacon was to procure to himself a good degree or step unto an- 
other place, as the Apostle speaks ; and the Apostles were the 
first or highest order or degree, as appears from that enumera- 
tion that is set down, yet they think not themselves too good to 
ordain the meanest officer, for so the deacons always were ac- 
counted, and that in a busy time, when they had renounced secular 
employments, as below them, and confined themselves to prayer 
and the ministry of the word. So Paul and Barnabas were the 
great apostles of the Gentilesjyet thought it not enough to preach 
the Gospel and convert men to the truth, but did also carefully or- 
dain them elders in every church ; good people therefore must 
not think much to leave this unto preaching elders that was nev- 
er practised by any of God } s people, either in the Scripture or af- 
ter ages of the church, and which is really above their sphere, 
even a great deal more than they can manage, or tell how to 
wield, and be content those should perform it, that are by God 
deputed thereunto." 

Thus much we have added on this question in this place, 
by way of supplement to the previous discussion, in which it is 
more fully considered. If in Scripture and the Fathers the 
terms presbyter and bishop are limited in their official sense to 
preachers, and if such alone united in the act of ordination, as 
has we think been made apparent, then, of course, there can be 
no question as to the right of ruling elders to ordain. And if 
the practice of reformed churches, including our own, have 
been invariably opposed to such a practice, there can be as 
little question as to the expediency or propriety of introducing 
such an innovation into the order of our church. We cannot 
therefore but hope that a question so fruitless and unprofitable 



BY IMPOSITION OF HANDS, ETC. 



123 



will be allowed to rest, and that the energies of the church will 
be devoted to the upbuilding of her waste places and the exten- 
sion of the kingdom of Christ. 1 

1 Brown in his Vindication of the Presbyterian Form of Church Gov't, 
Edinb. 1812, 2d ed., occupies from p. 64 to p. 66, and again at pp. 188, 169, 
in proving that " ministers alone can ordain ministers," and he shows that this 
was admitted by many Independents. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Value of the Eldership. 

It may be profitable before bringing this work to a close to 
illustrate the value of the Eldership. >- : 

There are two dangerous extremes, between which, as some 
destructive Scylla and Charybdis, the church of God has pur- 
sued her hazardous and ofttimes fatal course. To these we will 
first advert. 

The first of these extremes is the undue exaltation and power 
of the Christian ministry, which leads to spiritual despotism, and 
terminates in consequent corruption. 

The love of power and domination is one of the most strongly 
manifested principles of man's fallen nature, and stands out 
most prominently in the blood-stained history of our apostate 
race. Equally certain is it that those elements in human nature 
which constitute man a religious being, and which bind him over 
to the unalterable destinies of a future and unseen world, are the 
most sure and effectual means by which such spiritual power 
can be established and upheld. Hence it is that the chief in- 
fluence and sway over the minds and consciences of men has 
ever been exerted by the priesthood. And just as the character 
of religious teachers has been pure, elevated, and noble, or cor- 
rupt and debased, has their power been found to work out the 
degradation or the welfare of society. 

The teaching of the doctrines, and the administration of the 
ordinances and discipline of the Christian church have been in- 
trusted, by its divine Head, to an order of men who constitute 
the ministers of the sanctuary. And, while human sagacity and 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



125 



care must ever be insufficient to prevent the entrance pf unholy 
and unworthy persons into this sacred office, it is also certain 
that even in those who are truly Christian the natural love of 
power may exert its influence, under the assumed pretext of a just 
and necessary zeal for the honor and glory of God. From both 
these causes it was early found that the Christian ministry, at least 
to some considerable extent, arrogated to itself an undue authority 
in the church ; claimed the possession of all heavenly gifts, so 
as that these could not be received except through their hands: 
and separated the clergy from the laity by a high wall of myste- 
rious sanctity ; until at length the laity were excluded from all 
interference with ecclesiastical arrangements, and were taught 
to look with implicit faith and reverence to these spiritual de- 
positories of heavenly grace, for all saving and divine communi- 
cations. 

Such an exclusive management of the whole business of the 
church would, of course, insensibly lead its ministers to intro- 
duce rites, ceremonies, and doctrines adapted to secure the 
establishment of these spiritual claims. For this purpose it was 
taught that the gifts and graces of God were vested as a sacred 
deposit in the ministry, and were only to be obtained through 
their instrumentality. For this purpose were the people made 
to believe that sins committed after baptism were scarcely, if at 
all, remissible, and that when remitted it was only through the 
penances prescribed by these priestly mediators. For this pur- 
pose was the cup withheld from the laity, and the Lord's Supper 
changed into the idolatrous service of the mass. For this pur- 
pose were auricular confession, pilgrimages, indulgences, con- 
secration of places and of utensils, and all the other forms, rites, 
and ceremonies, which have been from time to time adopted, 
made of primary and indispensable importance. By these and 
similar methods was the ministry exalted and the laity humbled ; 
the former clothed with the prerogatives of God, and the latter 
despoiled of the rights and immunities secured to them by Christ. 
Spiritual despotism being thus established, the corruption of the 
entire system of the gospel was a necessary and unavoidable 
consequence, since in its purity it asserts the liberty of its dis- 
ciples, emancipates them from the yoke of servility to their 



126 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



fellow men, and introduces them into the glorious liberty of the 
children of God. 

Now this system of iniquity yet works, and the principles 
which lead to it are, and ever will be, common to every inheritor 
of our fallen humanity. Christian ministers now are, by nature, 
what they ever were and ever must be, weak, erring, sinful, and 
fallible mortals. The tendency of this corrupt] nature would of 
itself lead them to the assumption of undue power, and of unau- 
thorized prerogatives, and to the consequent perversion to their 
own carnal purposes and professional aggrandizement, of the 
oracles of God. 

How admirable, therefore, is the wisdom of God in providing 
a counteracting agency in the people, and in their delegated 
representatives, the Christian Eldership, by which the approaches 
of this spiritual tyranny may be checked, and the first inroad of 
heresy stayed. These are representatives of the people, chosen 
and delegated by the people, and not by the ministry. Ruling 
elders are in constant and familiar intercourse with the people. 
They are, or ought to be, numerous. They are independent of 
the clergy. They can carry an Appeal from their decisions to 
all the appointed judicatories of the church. And thus, if they 
are in any good measure faithful men, they may effectually guard 
the members of the church from the possibility of all ecclesiastical 
tyranny ; and the doctrines of the church from all ecclesiastical 
perversion by a wily, selfish, ambitious, unconverted, or hereti- 
cal clergy. 

" Wherefore/' says Hilary or Ambrose, in the Commentary 
usually attributed to him, (on 1 Tim. 5: 1,) " both the syna- 
gogue and afterwards the church had seniors, without whose 
counsel nothing was done in the church ; which order, by what 
negligence it grew into disuse I know not, unless perhaps by the 
sloth, or rather by the pride of the teachers, while they alone 
wish to appear something." Nothing, therefore, has been more 
violently resented by High Church prelatists of every age than 
this interference of the laity with what they arrogantly claim as 
their sole and exclusive jurisdiction. The eldership has conse- 
quently been declaimed against as an " inquisitorial court not to 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



127 



be endured/ 51 and at this very moment is it boldly declared by 
the divines of Oxford that the admission of the laity in any form 
into the ecclesiastical assemblies of the American Episcopal 
church, is a manifest usurpation which must be overthrown. 2 

In the early ages of the church the right of the people to a 
participation in the government of the church was, as we have 
seen, never [questioned. They voted for their pastors even as 
they do in Presbyterian churches now, and were summoned to- 
gether whenever the election of a Bishop became necessary. 3 
Thus in the year A. D. 448, as Bede informs us, Germanus and 
Lupus were sent from France into England to suppress the Pela- 
gian heresy. A synod or council was summoned at Verolam, 
(St. Albans,) in which the people, the laity as well as the clergy, 
had decisive votes in determining points of doctrine. 4 " The 
ancient method, " says Burns, " was not only for the clergy but 
the body of the people within such a district to appear at synods, 
of whom a certain number were selected to give information^ 
while four, six, or eight delegates, according to the extent of 
the parish, represented the rest, and sat with the clergy as testes 
synod ates." 5 

It was from a conviction of these truths, and from a belief 
that such officers were absolutely necessary to withstand those 
excesses of tyranny practised by the Romish clergy at and before 
the period of the Reformation, that Calvin in 1542 revived these 
rules in the Christian church at Geneva, as they had been already 
elsewhere. 6 

Since then it appears that w T hen the usurping power of pre- 
latical ambition ruled over God's heritage, this office, which 
gave an interposing authority to the people, was discontinued ; 
and that when the church was roused by the Spirit of God to 
throw off that spiritual despotism, she found it necessary to 

1 Whitgifr's Defence, Soames, Eliz. Rel. Hist. 

2 See British Critic, as fully quoted in my Lectures on the Apost. Succes. 
pp. 309-312. 

3 See Clarkson's Primitive Episcopacy. 

4 Eccl. Hist. lib. i. c. 17, in Bib. Repert. 1837, p. 15. 

5 Burns' Eccl. Law, vol. i. p. 408. 

6 See Brown on Ch. Gov't, p. 12G. 



128 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



summon to her aid these divinely authorized officers ; and since 
the same tendency to undue and arbitrary authority is native to 
corrupt humanity, and will therefore ever manifest itself, the 
value and importance to be attached to the office of the Chris- 
tian Eldership must be at once apparent. 

Such has ever been its influence in the reformed Kirk of 
Scotland ; so that when the Book of Canons was sent to Scot- 
land in 1635, by authority of King Charles, but in reality through 
the influence of Archbishop Laud, it constituted one chief item 
in the list of grievances against which the nation boldly protested, 
that thereby " lay-elders were rejected. " 1 And it will be manifest 
to every attentive reader of the history of the Church of Scotland, 
that both at the period of her first and second reformation, it was 
only by the bold, uncompromising, and steadfast adherence to 
the cause of covenanted truth, by the representatives of the laity, 
the cause of reform was maintained against the combined power 
of Erastian plunderers and Romish plotters; and that but for 
their resolute and persevering stand, the cause of Presbyterian- 
ism would have been in some cases sold into the hands of pow- 
erful rulers. 2 

To the elders, in connexion with the pastor, is committed 
the authoritative administration of the discipline of the church, 
both as a preservative against error, and also against immorality ; 
and the purity or impurity, the prosperity or adversity of the 
church since the Reformation will be found to coincide with the 
degree of their faithfulness or unfaithfulness in the exercise of 
this double spiritual power. 

When General and Provincial Assemblies were suppressed in 
Scotland, and presbyteries neglected, ministers became negligent, 
immorality and heresy prevailed, and Popery increased. 3 And 
the present lamentable condition of the church in Germany, 
where infidel and unchristian tenets have been substituted for the 
pure word of God, is also traceable to the deficient constitutions 
of the German churches, their entire want of control over the 
opinions of their own ministers, and their wild licentious exer- 
cise of the right of private judgment on every question, however 

1 See Life of Henderson by Dr. Aiton. 

2 See do. do. pp. 311, 312, 317, 322, &c. 3 Ibid. p. 157. 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



129 



mysterious and momentous. 1 These evils have been so strongly 
felt, and their cause so clearly*discerned, that measures are in 
progress for the establishment of a more efficient church govern- 
ment and discipline. ISot only is this true of the continental 
church generally — it is most lamentably exemplified in the church 
in Geneva, where the worldly character of the elders, and their 
exclusion from the highest ecclesiastical court, which is composed 
of clergymen merely, have enabled unprincipled men gradually 
and most insidiously to supplant with Socinian formularies all 
the existing standards of the church. 2 

So, also, in England, the lax discipline, and the imperfect 
constitution of the. Old Presbyterian churches (for Presbyterian- 
ism never was fully carried out in that country, and therefore 
never could exert its full efficiency) gave occasion to the cor- 
ruption of doctrine and the degeneracy of piety. 

"It is of the very greatest importance," says the Rev. Mr. 
Thomson, in the Scottish Christian Herald, " to ascertain the 
causes of this remarkable and deplorable decline of Presbyterian- 
ism. The grinding persecutions to which Presbyterians were 
subjected by Cromwell, an Independent, and by the faithless 
Episcopalians, under the Stuarts, prevented them from erecting 
the platform of their scriptural polity, and familiarized many to 
the more attainable, plastic, and accommodating institutions of 
Congregationalism. 

" Presbyterians began to look upon forms of church govern- 
ment as not of Divine institution; they regarded them as merely 
human expedients for the preservation of order ; and that, there- 
fore, a church might be just as rightly constituted under one form 
as under another ; they talked, indeed, of Episcopalianism's being 
adapted to rich and gorgeous England, and of Presbyterianism's 
being adapted to poor and homely Scotland. The necessary con- 
sequence of this miserable delusion was, that the strictness of dis- 
cipline gave way ; Presbyterianism came to be branded as stiff, 
rigid, puritanical and unaccommodating; and numbers of the 
churches lapsed into Independency, and thence sank into Soci- 

1 See Rose on, in Bib. Repert. 182G, pp. 405 and 449. 

2 See Dr. Heugh's Religion in Geneva and Belgium. 

7* 



THE VALUE OP THE ELDERSHIP. 



nianism. By many churches which did not go the whole length 
of this declension, alliances and agreements were entered into 
with Congregationalists, which but opened a door for admission 
into the congregations of the more acceptable doctrines of the 
latter, who broke the pactions as soon as they saw that this pur- 
pose had been sufficiently served. Seldom were pains taken any 
where to instruct the people in the counsel of God, respecting 
the form and government of the church. Every thing relating 
to such matters was rather, indeed, studiously kept out of sight. 
The result was inevitable — the people became ignorant of the 
subject, and as indifferent to it as they were ignorant of it. The 
consequence was, that the framework of Presbyterianism was, in 
many places, gradually and utterly dissolved; and congregation 
after congregation passed into other communions without even an 
effort being made to retain them." 

Seeing, therefore, that if true doctrine and true piety are left 
to the care and preservation of the clergy merely, they will as cer- 
tainly be in time corrupted j 1 and that under God the life of the 
church is maintained by a faithful discipline and control ; the 
importance of a Christian eldership, who shall act as overseers 
of the flock, and as helps and governments, cannot be too highly 
estimated. They are guardians of the spiritual liberties and the 
religious freedom of the people. They are set for the defence 
and preservation of the truth, not by its inculcation from the 
sacred desk, but by the preservation of that desk itself from the 
intrusion of erroneous and unsound teachers. 2 

" That there has never been any open and avowed departure 
from Calvinistic doctrines in the Presbyterian church in the 
United States," says Dr. Hodge in his Constitutional History, 
" while repeated and extended defections have occurred in New 
England, is a fact worthy of special consideration. The cause of this 
remarkable difference in the history of these two portions of the 

1 That heresies have generally originated with aspiring clergymen, see Fa- 
ber's Albigenses, p. 567. And that they have generally been opposed to all 
reformation of abuses, see Conder's View of all Religions, p. 78 ; NeaPs Hist, 
vol. iv. p. vii. 429 ; Burnet's Hist, of Ref. vol. i. p. xvi., xxi. 

2 On the Influence of Elders and the Laity, in checking error, see I3ib. 
Repertory, 1837, p. 15, 17. 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



131 



church, may be sought by different persons in different circum- 
stances. Presbyterians may be excused if they regard their form 
of government as one of the most important of those causes. New 
England has enjoyed greater religious advantages than any other 
portion of our country. It was settled by educated and devoted 
men. Its population was homogeneous and compact. The peo- 
ple were almost all of the same religious persuasion. The Pres- 
byterian church, on the contrary, has labored under great dis- 
advantages. Its members w ? ere scattered here and there, in the 
midst of other denominations. Its congregations were widely 
separated, and, owing to the sparseness of the people, often very 
feeble : and, moreover, not unfrequently composed of discordant 
materials, Irish, Scotch, German, French, and English. Yet 
doctrinal purity has been preserved to a far greater extent in the 
latter denomination than in the former. What is the reason ? 
Is it not to be sought in the conservative influence of Presbyte- 
rianism ? The distinguished advantages possessed by New Eng- 
land, have produced their legitimate effects. It would be not 
less strange than lamentable, had the institutions, instructions, 
and example of the pious founders of New England been of no 
benefit to their descendants. It is to these sources that portion 
of our country is indebted for its general superiority. The ob- 
vious decline in the religious character of the people, and the ex- 
tensive prevalence, at different periods, of fanaticism and Antino- 
mianism, Arminianism and Pelagianism, is, as we believe, to be 
mainly attributed to r an unhappy and unscriptural ecclesiastical 
organization. Had New England, with her compact and homo- 
geneous population, and all her other advantages, enjoyed the 
benefit of a regular Presbyterian government in the church, it 
would, in all human probability, have been the finest ecclesiasti- 
cal community in the world. 

"It is well known that a great majority of all the distinguish- 
ed ministers whom New England has produced, have entertained 
the opinion here expressed on the subject. President Edwards, 
for example, in a letter to Mr. Erskine, said, ' I have long been 
out of conceit of our unsettled, independent, confused way of 
church government ; and the Presbyterian way has ever appeared 
to me most agreeable to the word of God. and the reason and 



132 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



nature of things.' Life, p. 412. Where the preservation of the 
purity of the church is committed to the mass of the people, who, 
as a general rule, are incompetent to judge in doctrinal matters, 
and who, in many cases, are little under the influence of true 
religion, we need not wonder that corruption should from time to 
time prevail. As Christ has appointed presbyters to rule in the 
church according to his word, on them devolve the duty and re- 
sponsibility of maintaining the truth. This charge is safest in 
the hands of those to whom Christ has assigned it." 

But there is also another extreme to which the church may 
be driven, and which is followed by consequences equally dan- 
gerous and destructive, and that is the undue influence and inter- 
ference of the people. There may be a spiritual democracy as 
well as a spiritual despotism — a spiritual anarchy and wild mis- 
rule, as well as an arbitrary exercise of spiritual and ministerial 
authority. For if ministers, with all their knowledge, their mo- 
tives to piety, and their solemn obligations to preserve and per- 
petuate the truth, are often found insufficient to withstand the 
temptations to self-aggrandizement, how much less are the mass 
of any congregation or church qualified for the exercise of power 
and the discernment of truth ? The many will always be guided 
by the few, and will implicitly foliow#their direction ; while these 
will be swayed in their determinations by party spirit, prejudice, 
or personal animosity. When all are judges and rulers, and all 
have equal voice and authority, tyranny and misrule must neces- 
sarily, in the very nature of things, be the result. 

The principle of representation on which the power of gov- 
ernment and control is delegated by the many to the few, is 
therefore found to be of essential importance in all social and politi- 
cal bodies. The ultimate power being in the mass, its present 
exercise is committed to appointed officers. 

Now this principle God has sanctioned in the church, where 
all authority and power, though vested not in the people gene- 
rally, is to be exercised by officers chosen by, and from among, 
the people. An order of ministers, also, are empowered with the 
exclusive office and authority of preaching the gospel and admin- 
istering the sacraments, ordained by previously existing minis- 
ters, and then elected by the people. And as salvation is made 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



133 



to depend upon the preaching and hearing of the truth ; and 
since the power of the truth depends upon the purity and fidelity 
with which it is proclaimed, it is clearly as necessary that the 
ministry should be upheld and maintained in the exercise of all 
proper independence and authority, that it may be under no over- 
bearing influence through fear of the hatred, or desire of the 
favor of the people, as that the rights of the people should be 
guarded against the encroachments of spiritual tyranny. All 
order, discipline, and jurisdiction are as likely to be overthrown, 
and the truth of God as likely to be perverted and made to adapt 
itself to the taste of man, where they are subject to the domi- 
neering caprices of the multitude, as when left to the exclusive 
management of a single individual. 1 

The Christian eldership, therefore, is of great value and im- 
portance, w hen viewed as the guardian of the just rights and ne- 
cessary authority of the ministry, and as a check to the capri- 
cious and unauthorized interference of the people, or of any as- 
piring individuals among the people. Anarchy and wild misrule 
are as dangerous as despotism ; and the way of safety lies in that 
happy medium which preserves authority within its just and pro- 
per limits, and secures obedience to all the rightful demands of 
lawful officers. The eldership is thus the balance-weight between 
the ministry and the people, by which they are kept in a happy 
equilibrium ; appointed by the people, and yet acting with the 
pastor; representatives of the people, but bound over to solemn 
fidelity to all the interests of the church ; and numerous, that they 
may the better supply all the necessities which demand their 
care, and the better guard against whatever influence might be 
exerted to introduce disorder or corruption into the bosom of 
the church. 

" Presbyterianism," says the author already quoted, " though, 
no doubt, adapted to human nature, as every Divine institution 
unquestionably must be, is yet not a form of church government 
which men will naturally choose. It is adapted to reform, not to 
please human nature. There is in it both too much and too little of 

1 As illustrative of the anarchy which must result from the exercise of spir- 
itual powers by the people, see Div. Right of Ch. Gov't, pp. Ill and 114. 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



governmental character, too much and too little of distinction of 
order, too much of ruling required, and yet too little power confer- 
red upon the rulers, ever to render it generally, much less univer- 
sally, palatable. Those who love power will naturally prefer pre- 
lacy. Presbvterianism, by placing all the pastors of the church 
on the same level, and by forbidding them to be lords, in any 
sense, over <jfod's heritage, affords no scope to clerical pride or 
ambition on the one hand, or to the indulgence of a servile, inert, 
implicitly confiding submission on the other. By associating 
churches, and placing the government of them, not in the hands 
of one individual, but in a body corporate, composed not of min- 
isters exclusively, but of ministers and elders in equal propor- 
tions, and with equal gubernatorial authority, not of a legislative, 
but only of a ministerial nature, Presbyterianism stands opposed to 
despotism, whether it be despotism over a diocese, or despotism 
over a congregation, the despotism of ministers over their people, or 
of people over their ministers. Men generally may love power and 
liberty in the things of this present world, but the greater part are 
heartily content that others both think and act for them in matters 
relating to religion and the world to come. All such persons will 
prefer, as circumstances may modify their taste, either Papal, Dioce- 
san, or Congregational, to Presbyterial Episcopacy. Presbyterian- 
ism will not permit a minister, how strong soever his desire or great 
his ability to rule over a congregation, to do so; neither will it al- 
low such of the people as may be disposed, to rule over the min- 
ister. It scripturally subordinates the minister to his ministerial 
brethren, and the people to those who hav^e the rule over them in 
the Lord ; and thus, how much soever it may be adapted to the 
condition, it certainly is not palatable to the wishes of fallen hu- 
manity. Presbyterianism is part and parcel of the Cross, and 
must, in part, partake of the offence of the Cross." 

"The elders," says Dr. Aiton, in his Life of Henderson, " than 
whom there does not exist a more pious and kind-hearted class of 
men, have ever strengthened the hand and often encouraged the 
heart of their minister. As a connecting link between a minister 
and his people, they soften asperities, correct prejudices, and pos- 
sess opportunities of explaining and justifying or palliating his con- 
duct in many instances, where the injury could neither have been 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



135 



otherwise found out or counteracted. In the little priory council- 
meetings at the manse, their discretion, accompanied with mod- 
est sincerity, often corrects a want of knowledge of character on 
the part of the newly inducted moderator. A minister, therefore, 
without elders in his session, is as much to be pitied as a man 
without friends ; and he is no more fit for the efficient discharge 
of his parochial duties, than any artisan deprived of the right 
arm is for his trade. In the presbytery, elders give unity and 
vigor to our deliberations, promote impartiality of judgment, 
deaden jealousy among the members, and, above all, give the 
church a hold on public opinion. In the General Assembly, 
now the only remnant of Scottish independence, the introduction 
of lay elders has been attended with the happiest effects. The 
finest talents usually exercised in secular concerns, are there 
every day called into requisition, to advance the well-being of 
the church." 

But we must pass on to notice another danger to which the 
Christian church is exposed, and that is, the tendency to make 
religion a ministerial and not a personal concern. This is a 
deep-seated principle of our depraved nature. In our alienation 
from God, our enmity to him, and our utter indisposition to spir- 
itual things, we are very willing to resign to others the burden of 
an active and devoted piety. We are very glad to be religious by 
proxy, and to gratify our selfish love of ease by shifting away 
from us the obligations of a holy and heavenly zeal. We are full 
glad to witness whatever amount of consecrated piety ministers 
may exhibit, if the people are only left undisturbed in the pursuit of 
their farms, their wealth, or their merchandise. Now this whole 
spirit is of the flesh ; it is carnal ; it is earthly ; it is anti-Christian. 
It is the voice of the old man pleading for his old and inveterate 
habits. It is that love of our own selves and of the world which 
are in their habitual indulgence wholly irreconcilable with the 
love of God, of Christ, and of the gospel. This spirit must be 
expelled, or the church will be possessed as by legions of evil 
spirits. It must be utterly exterminated, or the cold stupor of 
spiritual death will paralyze its energies. 

And what, under God, is better adapted to bring home to 
the conscience of every Christian the imperative necessity of such 



136 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



Christian activity and devotedness, than the claim which is made 
by God himself to the services of a Christian eldership, chosen 
from among themselves, and the example which is thus given to 
every member of the flock, of the practicability and the duty of 
serving the Lord while diligent in business; and of giving a 
punctual and faithful attention to all the demands of earthly and 
relative obligations, while at the same time they present as a con- 
secrated offering to God the living sacrifice of the body, soul and 
spirit, to the promotion of His glory in the salvation of men? 
There is in a holy and devoted eldership a living witness to these 
just claims of heaven ; a visible demonstration of the duty of 
every Christian ; an open exposure of the baseless hypocrisy and 
groundlessness of those excuses by which too many professors of 
religion shield themselves from the just demand of charity and 
piety ; and an undeniable proof that it is the " reasonable ser- 
vice " of all who profess to be followers of Christ, while 
diligent in worldly business, to be at the same time fervent in 
spirit, serving the Lord ; and to live not to themselves, or for any 
temporal interests, but unto Him who died for them and rose 
again. 

Finally, let us exhibit the value and importance of the elder- 
ship, by considering how admirably the church courts, which they 
unite in forming, meet the wants of active and efficient Boards 
or Agencies by which the operations of benevolence may be car- 
ried on, and the church aided in all her Christian and evangeli- 
cal efforts. 

It is very remarkable that the Independent churches in 
England, who have thus far been acting altogether upon the 
principle of voluntary combination in carrying forward their mis- 
sionary and other labors, are now led to acknowledge the neces- 
sity of some such ecclesiastical arrangement as we possess. 
"We lay it down," says Dr. Campbell, the author of the Prize 
Essay on Lay Agency, " as a fundamental principle, that all 
evangelical movements, in order to success and permanence, so 
far as practicable, ought to be congregational as opposed to gen- 
eral and conventional/' 1 " Our object," he says, " is to carry 



1 Eclectic Rev. Dec. 1839, p. 669. 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



137 



this all important principle of congregational operation into 
every department of Christian agency, and to show that every 
congregational church is an organized body, capable of perform- 
ing and designed to perform all manner of evangelical functions, 
necessary to the spread of the gospel and the salvation of men." 
Such a church, therefore, "is a system, a compound society, 
branching forth in every direction where work is to be performed 
in behalf of religious benevolence. There is not one of those 
various objects appertaining to the local diffusion of Christian 
knowledge for which separate societies have been formed, which 
might not have been far more easily, cheaply, and effectively ac- 
complished by the churches of Christ acting in their individual, 
organized capacity. Whether those objects relate to Sabbath 
School instruction — to the farther cultivation of young people of 
both sexes — to Bible and tract distribution — to district visita- 
tion of the poor, in towns and cities, for Scripture reading and 
exposition — to cottage lecturing and village preaching — or to 
any other pursuits of a like nature, they can be effectively prose- 
cuted only upon one principle, the principle of congregational 
operation.' 51 

The same principle is very fully and ably discussed by the 
Rev. W. H. Stowell, President of Rotherham College, in " The 
Missionary Church, designed to show that the spread of the Gos- 
pel is the proper business of the Church as the Church. 55 ' 2 

Now this is just the system which is already perfectly arranged 
in the scheme of Presbyterianism, and which is now in full 
operation in the conduct of our various benevolent enterprises. 
Every church is a regularly organized Christian society for the 
great object of glorifying God in the salvation of men. Of this 
society the church session is the board of managers, and should 
take effectual means to carry on within each church all the benev- 
olent operations of the church. Each church again is auxiliary 
to that Presbytery within whose bounds it lies, and whose duty 
it is to guide, stimulate, concentrate and govern the separate 
efforts of each individual church. So again each Presbytery is 

1 See Jethro, or A System of Lay Agency. Lond. 1839, pp. 18G. 187. 
3 Lond. 1840. 2d edition. 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



auxiliary to the Synod, and each Synod to the General Assem- 
bly, which gives unity, energy and efficiency to the combined ef- 
forts of the whole church. 

Now were elders what they might and ought to be, it is at 
once apparent that every church in our whole denomination 
would be found in readiness to every good work. No agencies 
would be needful to advise them of their duty, or rouse the slum- 
bering efforts of churches already acquainted with their duty, and 
make them forward in the work and labor of love. Certainty, 
economy, and efficiency would soon characterize all the philan- 
thropic and Christian enterprises of the Presbyterian church ; 
and however others might slacken in their zeal, she would be 
found going on from strength to strength in all holy devotedness 
to God. 

But we must close. And in doing so we would invite attention 
to the following eloquent delineation of the value and importance 
of the eldership to the church of Scotland formerly, and of the 
power it may still exert for the diffusion of Christian influences 
throughout any land. It is from the pen of the Rev. Mr. 
Guthrie. 

" In our ancestors," he says, " wisdom was justified of her 
children : and they considered a charge of a thousand people 
ample enough for any man to manage. Nor did they leave the 
minister alone to manage it. No more than the captain of a 
ship-of-war is the only officer on her deck, was the minister to be 
the only man in his parish clothed with ecclesiastical authority ; he 
was to be aided, supported, and surrounded by a staff of officers, 
a band of efficient elders and deacons ; and as our ancestors 
thought that a minister had charge enough who had in his parish 
a thousand people, they thought an elder had charge enough who 
had in his district some ten or twenty families. They never 
dreamt of such a state of things as we have in our days in Scot- 
land now. I can point to districts with the population of a par- 
ish, and parishes with the population of a county. Nor in the 
good and olden time did the elder fill a merely honorary or secu- 
lar office ; he did something else, and something better, than 
stand by the plate, and vote in Presbytery and General Assem- 
bly. He visited the sick, his post was often at the bed of death, 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



139 



he counselled the erring, he went forth to the wilderness and 
brought the wanderer back to the fold, and was at once a father 
and a friend, a counsellor and a comfort to the families of his 
charge; he was known to all of them, and all of them were 
known to him ; his name was a household word, and he could 
tell the name of every man, woman, and child, within his bounds ; 
and frequently discharging offices both of temporal and spiritual 
kindness, he thus acquired, within his small and manageable lo- 
cality, a moral influence that was omnipotent for good. By the 
smallness of the district the duties of the office were within the 
compass of men in active business, and as they could be done, 
they were done, and e they were well done ; while, as matters stand 
at present in many parishes, it is true, in respect both of ministers 
and elders, that their duties cannot be any thing like well done, 
and therefore they are in all cases imperfectly done, and in some 
not done at all. The beast lies down under its burden, and so 
does the man. I defy any minister holding a city charge in 
Edinburgh to do one-half, one-third his work, as it should be 
done ; you may as well set a solitary man to reap the broad acres 
of a whole farm ; and in such circumstances, there is felt a strong 
temptation to yield to despair, and to do little or nothing at all. 

" Our present undertaking is intended to remedy these evils. 
We wish from its ruins to rebuild the ancient economy, and to 
restore what is not to be found now-a-days in any burgh in all 
broad Scotland — a manageable parish, split up into districts, 
each containing ten or twenty families, with the Gospel of its 
parish church as free as the water of its parish well, with a school 
where the children of the poorest may receive at least a Bible 
education, and with its minister, its elders, and its deacons, each 
in the active discharge of the duties of his own department. 
Such is the machinery that, before many weeks are gone, we 
trust to see in beautiful and blessed operation in the parish of 
St. John's. And what good, it may be asked, do we expect to 
follow? No good at all, unless God give the blessing. Besides 
the machinery we must have the moving power ; but if He smile 
upon our labors, we enter the field confident of victory. What 
this system has done in former days it can do again ; and we 
have no fear, though the eyes of enemies should look on, for we 



140 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



are trying no novel, never-before-tried experiment. Oar fathers 
tried it, and they triumphed in the trial ; and with the same seed, 
the same sun, and the same soil, should not the same cultivation 
produce as abundant a harvest? The very fields that are now, 
alas ! run rank with weeds, blossomed, and bore their fruit, like 
a garden of the Lord. From the cavils of some, and the fears 
of others, we take our appeal to history ; what is chronicled in 
its pages, of our country, when the parochial economy was in 
full and blessed operation ? Kirkton tells us that you might have 
travelled many a mile and never heard an oath; that there was 
hardly a household to be found without its household altar; and 
that the only party who complained were the taverners, and their 
complaint was, that their trade was broken — men were turned so 
sober. The testimony of De Foe is to the same effect, and not 
less remarkable. He tells us, that a blind beggar on his way to 
Scotland could know when he crossed the border, by the total 
absence of oaths and profanity in the language of the people ; 
and down in these lanes, which are now the haunts of misery 
and crime, there are still vestiges to be found of the prevailing- 
religion of other days; above many of their doorways one can 
still decipher a text of Scripture ; and now, in those houses where 
it stands carved in stone by the piety of our ancestors, you may 
ascend, as I have often done, from the cellar to the garret, and, 
amid all the families that crowd the tenement, you will hardly 
find one Bible, one communicant, one solitary person that fre- 
quents the house of God. When we think of those who once 
inhabited these dwellings, and how the prayer and the psalm 
were once heard where debauchery now holds her riot, and 
where, on the very Sabbath-day, I have been compelled to cease 
my prayer, because, from a neighboring apartment, the sound of 
blows, the curses of men, and the screams of women, and the 
cries of murder have drowned my voice ; — when we think of this 
melancholy contrast, who can help exclaiming, ' How is the 
gold become dim, the most fine gold, how is it perished !' I 
know there are men who have said that such cases are hopeless, 
who would thwart us if they could, and having laughed in un- 
godly scorn at the idea of building churches for these unhappy 
victims of their country's neglect, would hand them over to the 



THE VALUE OF THE ELDERSHIP. 



141 



tender mercies of the policeman and the jailer. Hopeless! I 
deny that the case is hopeless, or the disease beyond the remedy. 
' Is there no balm in Gilead ? is there no physician there ?' 
' Behold/ says God, in answer to these unbelieving and paralyz- 
ing fears, ' behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot 
save ; neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear. 5 From what 
difficulties should they shrink who have such promises as these 
to fall back and rest on : 'What art thou, O great mountain? 
before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain ;' ' Fear not, thou 
worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel, I will help thee, sailh the 
Lord ; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and 
shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the winds 
shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them ! 
and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, thou shalt glory in the Holy 
One of Israel V You may take a man to yon infirmary, and 
they may send him from their wards as incurable; you may take 
a man to a lunatic asylum, and they may give him over as a hope- 
less madman ; the disease of the body and the delirium of the 
head may baffle the skill of man: but that man never walked 
this world whom God's gospel, with God's blessing, could not 
cure and convert ; and we say, what an open church, and an 
open school, and a manageable parish, with its minister and mul- 
tiplied elders, have, with God's blessing, done before, with the 
same blessing they can do again." 



APPENDIX. 



ON THE USE OF THE TITLE BISHOP. 

The word bishop, we have seen, is employed in the New 
Testament synonymously with the term presbyter, as the special 
title or designation of that officer in the church whose duty it is 
to oversee, superintend, preside, preach, and administer the sa- 
craments and discipline of the church. Other terms are em- 
ployed for the same purpose, such as pastor, minister, angel, am- 
bassador, and steward, but these two, viz., presbyter and bishop, 
are more frequently employed, and especially when the qualifica- 
tions and duties of the office are distinctly pointed out. 

When the apostles went about settling and completely organ- 
izing the churches, they ordained presbyters in every city. (Acts 
14: 23.) When Paul took his final leave of the Ephesian 
Christians he called together their presbyters, whom he also de- 
nominates bishops, and whose office he clearly identifies with 
that of the preacher. (Acts 20 : 17, &,c.) When Paul writes 
to the church at Philippi, A. D. 62 or 63, he addresses himself 
only to the bishops and deacons. (Phil. 1 : 1.) When Peter 
addresses all the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, 
and Bithynia, he exhorts only the presbyters that are among 
them. (1 Peter 5: 1,2.) And in all the passages in which 
full and explicit delineations are given of the nature and qualifi- 
cations of the ministry, the word bishop is employed. (See 
1 Tim. 3 : 1-8, Titus 1 : 5-9, &, 1 Peter 5 : 1-5.) In the se- 
cond of these passages, (Titus 1 : 5-9,) the term presbyter 
and the term bishop are both employed, and the officer denoted 
by them is clearly identified as an instructor in the faith, 



144 



APPENDIX. 



Both these terms, though very similar in meaning, are used 
to designate the ministry, because the one — presbyter — was 
familiar to the Jews, and not known among the other nations, 
and because the other — bishop — was familiar among the other 
nations, and not common among the Jews. And as most of the 
first Christian churches were composed of both converted Jews and 
Gentiles, it was important to use both titles for their teachers. 

In the Septuagint or Greek translation of the Old Testament, 
the term bishop is very frequently employed to designate the 
office of overseer in a sense analogous to that in which it is em- 
ployed in the New Testament. (Neh. 2:9, 14:22; Numb. 
4 : 16 ; 2 Kings 34 : 12, 17.) The corresponding term " shep- 
herds " is the common title given in the Old Testament to the 
doctors of the people and to the prophets. (Zech. 2 : 8, 
And it is expressly declared that the officers of the church, 
in the New Testament church, should be known by this 
title, (Isa. 60: 17,) "I will make thy officers (in the Greek 
episcopi, or bishops) peace. " (See also Psalms 69 : 25, com- 
pared with Acts 1 : 20.) This very passage Clemens, in his 
Epistle to the Corinthian church, quotes in confirmation of his 
view of the officers of the church. We will only add, as has 
been already fully shown, that in the Jewish synagogue the 
title of bishop or its cognate terms, chazan, angel, &c, were 
given exclusively to the minister who presided, and who had 
the charge of preaching also. 

And while it is thus manifest that both these titles were 
adopted by the apostolic churches, it is beyond controversy that 
they came to be the established names by which ministers were 
known in the period succeeding the apostolic age. No other 
words, except when they speak figuratively in order to vary their 
language, are found in the apostolic fathers, nor are these 
titles used by them in any other than their original synonymous 
application to those who occupied the pastoral office. This I have 
fully proved elsewhere, and in part also in this volume. Neither 
can any man tell when, or why, the title of bishop came to be 
exclusively appropriated to an order of ministers higher than 
presbyters, and having supreme authority over them. That the 
terms presbyter and bishop are the same, and applied only to 



APPENDIX. 



145 



one and the same office in Scripture, all prelatists have been 
constrained to admit. And that there was a gradual change in 
the use of these words, until at length the term bishop was limited 
to the order of prelates, the) T also admit; but when or why this 
change was introduced they cannot, because they ic ill not , tell. The 
truth is, as has been seen, that one of the presbyters or bishops 
being necessarily appointed — as is the case now among all Pres- 
byterians — president or moderator of the body of presbyters, 
who watched over the interests of a whole neighborhood, and 
who, from the necessity of the case, then lived together, it be- 
came necessary to call him by some distinctive name. The 
apostles called this officer "the presiding presbyter," (1 Tim. 5: 
17,) but as there were two principal titles for the ministry, it 
came afterwards to be the custom to call this presiding pres- 
byter/' by way of brevity, " the bishop," and the others " the 
presbyters." And as many things then conspired to throw 
power and influence into the hands of this president, who w r as 
chosen for life, the application to him of the term " the bishop," 
came to be fixed, until at length it was regarded as indicating 
those prerogatives of authority and power which circumstances 
had attributed to his office. Thus was the higher order of 
prelatical bishops gradually introduced, with all the pride, 
ambition, and growing corruption, both in doctrine and in 
practice, to which the prelatical system has given birth. 

This view of the primitive order of the church, will at once 
account for all subsequent changes : meet all the difficulties of 
the case: and resolve all the problems which are proposed. 
Thus, when prelatists draw out their lists and catalogues of suc- 
cessive bishops, in the several apostolic churches, we find them 
at once, so far as they are credible, in these presidents, who 
would naturally constitute the individual representatives of 
their brethren and contemporaries. In later times, when there 
were several congregations in the same presbytery, the presi- 
dent was made pastor of the ecclesia principalis, the avdsytixq 
y.a&sdga, which was idiog Ogorog, his peculiar throne, and thus 
would he in every way shine forth among the other stars, as 
the most eminent and brilliant. But, even then, these presi- 
dents were eminent only as the first in rank among their col- 
fa 



146 



APPENDIX. * 



leagues in the same order and office, just as were archdeacons 
among the deacons, archpresbyters among the presbyters, arch- 
bishops among the bishops, and patriarchs among the arch- 
bishops. Thus, also, among the archontes at Athens, while all 
were equal in power, yet was one called archon, by way of 
eminence. His name alone was inserted in the public records 
of that year, which was reckoned from him. And so also, was 
it among the five ephori at Sparta, of whom, in like manner, one 
was chosen as president, and actually denominated ngoscrToog, as 
Plutarch informs us. So that a succession of single persons 
named above the rest in the apostolic churches, would never 
prove that they were any other than what w r e have described — 
the TigoEtTTCQTsg or presidents of the churches — especially as this 
title is given to presbyters as well as bishops, even by Cyprian 
himself. 

Again, when prelatists taunt us with the evident existence 
of diocesan prelacy at an early period, we find its origin in the 
corruption and abuse of this apostolic presbyterianism, or paro- 
chial episcopacy. " For," says the learned Whitaker, the dar- 
ling of the Church of England, " as at the first one presbyter 
was set over the rest of the presbyters and made a bishop: so 
afterwards one bishop was set over the rest of the bishops. And 
thus that custom hatched the pope with his monarchy, and by 
degrees brought him into the church." 

Such also is the opinion of Vitringa, who says:' " From such 
acts of communion, there were derived, in course of time, titles 
and dignities altogether unknown in the early ages of the church 
— for instance, it was necessary that some bishop should sum- 
mon the council, that some bishop should preside, and as the 
presidents of the presbyteries had before this assumed to them- 
selves authority, had taken exclusively the title of bishop, and 
thus came to be looked on as a distinct order from their presby- 
teries ; just so, the presidents of these councils arrogated much to 

1 De Vet. Synag. Part II. ch. iii. in Bernard's Synagogue, pp. 155, 156. 
See, also, pp. 178, 179, 214, and 229, where he shows how other similar errors 
crept in. Dr. Hinds traces these offices to the same origin. Hist, of Rise and 
Progress of Christianity, vol. i. p. 345. 



APPENDIX. 



147 



themselves, assumed a higher rank and office; and hence, the 
titles of archbishop, metropolitan, primate, patriarch, &,c." 

Thus it came to pass, that the title of bishop was associated 
with all the pride, pomp, ambition, tyranny, licentiousness, un- 
godliness, and infamy of men who never, or very seldom, preach- 
ed at all, and whose only business it was to lord it over God's 
heritage, and to live in pomp and luxury, from the taxes imposed 
upon the enslaved and superstitious church. The very title of 
bishop therefore came to be identified with these enormities, 
and to be a hissing and a by-word in the mouth of all men. And 
when, therefore, the enormous mass of Romish corruptions was 
thrown off the almost smothered church, at the reformation, 
and the reformers endeavored to cleanse the Augean stable and 
to restore the primitive purity and simplicity of Christ's church, 
they abstained for a time from the use of this abominated title 
of bishop, in order to do away the powerful association by 
which it was connected with all that was hateful and fearful. 
It is not, however, true, as some imagine, that they rejected the 
term, or were at all blind to its true and Scriptural meaning. 
On the contrary, they every where bring to light the Scriptural 
meaning and use of the word in all their standards and confes- 
sions ; and every where contended for it as the true, proper, and 
only signification. This fact will not, and cannot be denied, 
since this demonstration of the original parity of the ministry 
constituted one of the very first towers of impregnable defence, 
into which the reformers betook themselves, and from which 
they could not be, and were not, dislodged. 

Thus Milton, speaking of the Presbyterian form, says : " It is 
but episcopacy reduced to what it should be, and were it not that 
the tyranny of prelates, under the name of bishops, had made our 
ears tender and startling, we might call every good minister a 
bishop.'" 

The Helvetic Confession thus speaks : " Therefore the 
church ministers that now are may be called bishops, elders, (or 
presbyters,) pastors and doctors." 2 

1 Prose Works, vol. i. p. 52. See, also, pp. 9, 14. See, also, Lord Brooke 
on Episcopacy. London, 1642, p. 2. 

2 Harmony of Confessions, pp. 234, 235. 



148 APPENDIX. 

"Whereas," says Calvin, " I have indiscriminately called those 
who govern the churches, bishops, presbyters, and pastors, I have 
done so according to the usage of Scripture, for whoever exe- 
cutes the office of minister of the gospel, to them the Scriptures 
give the title of bishops." 1 

There are four ordinary functions or offices in the Kirk of 
God," says the Second Book of Discipline of 1578, "the office 
of the pastor, minister or bishop," &c. (Ch. ii. § 6.) This 
it repeats in the chapter concerning them, (Ch. iv. § 1,) where it 
says they " are sometimes called episcopi or bishops, because 
they watch over the flock." And they add this solemn advice 
to the several officers: " All these should take those titles and 
names only (leist they be exalted and puft up in themselves) 
which the Scripture gives unto them, as these import labor, 
travell and work." (Ch. iii. § 7.) 

" There are," said Adamson, in the General Assembly of 
1572, " three sorts of bishops ; my Lord bishop ; my Lord's bish- 
op ; and the Lord's bishop. My Lord bishop was in the p apis- 
trie. My Lord's bishop is now when my Lord gets the benefice, 
and the bishop serves for nothing but to make his title sure ; and 
the Lord's bishop is the true minister of the gospel." 2 

Again, in 1576, the General Assembly decided that " the 
name of bishop is common to all who are appointed to take 
charge of a particular flock, in preaching the word, administer- 
ing the sacraments, and exercising discipline with the consent 
of the elders." This was in the days of Knox and Melville. 
And Calderwood says : " The Pastor can see no Lord-bishop in 
Scripture but the Lord's bishop only, — a name of labor and dil- 
igence, and not of honor and ease." 3 

So much for the Church of Scotland ; and as it regards the 
Church of England, a candid Episcopalian writer says: "It was 
the judgment of her founders, (that is, of the Church of England,) 
perhaps unanimously, but at all events generally, that the bishop 
of the primitive church was merely a presiding elder ; a pres- 

1 Comment, on Titus 1:5. 

2 See similar views of, in a sermon as quoted by Jameson in Fundamentals 
of the Hierarchy, p. 55. 

3 The Pastor and Prelate. 1628, pp. 2, 3. 



APPENDIX. 



149 



byter ruling over presbyters ; identical in order and commission; 
superior only in degree and authority. 551 But for the full quo- 
tations on this point, I refer the reader elsewhere. 2 We will 
only here say, that in the "Declaration of the Functions of Bish- 
ops and Priests, &C./' it is said : " Yet the truth is, that in the 
New Testament there is no mention made of any degrees or 
distinctions in orders, but only of deacons or ministers, and of 
priests (presbyters) or bishops. 5 ' And to this opinion these 
English reformers were more readily led, because it was the 
unanimous judgment of the Canonists and Schoolmen as well as 
of many of the most eminent of the Fathers. Thus one 
of the Decretals collected by Pope Gregory IX. was : " We 
call the Diaconate and the Episcopate sacred orders, be- 
cause the primitive church is recorded to haye held these alone." 3 
And the Council of Trent itself was forced to allow that " the 
name and title of bishop was common to both 5 ' bishops and 
presbyters. 4 

The Divines of the Westminster Assembly were very full 
and explicit on this subject. In their debates on 1 Tim. 5 : 17, 
as referring to ruling elders, Mr. Palmer argued that the passage 
could not refer to two sorts of officers, otherwise it would imply 
" two sorts of bishops," which was thought to be a sufficient ab- 
surdity at once to overthrow such an interpretation. But had 
he only enjoyed a little of our " new light," he would at once 
doubtless have perceived that our ruling elders are and must be 
bishops, and that therefore the passage must refer to them. 5 

The authors of Smectymnuus, written in A. D. 1641, by five 
of the most influential members of the Assembly, viz. Messrs. 
Marshall, Calamy, Young, Newcomen, and Sparstow, prove at 
length that it is of great importance to resume the familiar use of 
the term bishop. They say, 6 "Whether it befit that the name 
bishop, which in Scripture is common to the presbyters with the 
bishops, (and not only in Scripture, but also in antiquity for some 

1 Essays on the Church, p. 251. 

2 See Presbytery and Prelacy, p. 429, &c. 3 Ibid. p. 409, &c. 

4 Reynoldson,in Boyce, Anc't Episcop. p. 17. 

5 Lightfoot's Works, vol. xiii. p. 75 ; also pp. 43, 46, 51, and 54. 

6 See pp. 91-93. 



150 



APPENDIX. 



hundreds of years,) should still be appropriated to Bishops, and 
ingrossed by them, and not rather to be made common to all 
Presbyters; and the rather, because, first we finde by wofull ex- 
perience, that the great Equivocation thatlyeth in the name Bish- 
op, HATH BEENE, AND IS AT THIS DAY A GREAT PROP AND PIL- 
LAR to uphold Lordly Prelacy, for this is the great 

GOLIAH, THE MASTER-PIECE, AND INDEED THE ONLY ARGU- 
MENT WITH WHICH THEY THINKE TO SILENCE ALL OPPOSERS. 

To wit, the antiquitie of Episcopacie, that it hath continued in 
the church of Christ for 1500 yeares, &,c., which argument is 
cited by this Remonstrant ad nauseum usque et usque. Now 
it is evident that this argument is a JParalogisme, depending up- 
on the Equivocation of the name Bishop. For Bishops in the 
apostles' times were the same with Presbyters in name and office, 
and so for a good while after. And when, afterwards, they came 
to be distinguished, the Bishops of the Primitive times differed as 
much from ours now, as Rome ancient from Rome at this day, as 
hath been sufficiently declared in this Booke. And the best 
way to confute this argument is by bringing in a commu- 
nity of the name blshop to a presbyter as well as to a 
Bishop. 

"Secondly, because wee finde that the late Innovators which 
have so much disturbed the peace and purity of our church, did 
first begin with the alteration of words ; and by changing the 
word Table into the word Altar ; and the word Minister into the 
word Priest ; and the word Sacrament into the word Sacrifice, 
have endeavored to bring in the Popish Masse. And the apostle 
exhorts us, 2 Tim. 1 : 13, to holdfast the forme of sound words : 
and I Tim. 6 : 20, to avoid the profane novelties of words. Upon 
which text we will only mention what the Rhernists have com- 
mented, which we conceive to be worthy consideration, (Nam 
instruunt nos non solum docentes, sed etiam errantes.) The 
church of God hath always beene as diligent to resist novelties 
of words, as her adversaries are busie to invent them, for which 
cause she will not have us communicate with them, nor follow 
their fashions and phrase newly invented, though in the nature 
of the words sometimes there be no harme. Let us keepe our 



APPENDIX. 



151 



forefathers' words, and we shall easily keepe our old 
and true faith, that we had of the first christians !" 

The sentiments of these divines may be further learned from 
a judgment given by the British Parliament in 1645, which we 
take from a publication entitled " An Ordinance of the Lord's 
and Commons assembled in Parliament, &c. London, 1645, 4to. 
" Whereas," they say, " the word presbyter, that is to say, eld- 
er, and the word bishop, do in the Scripture intend and signify one 
and the same function, although the title of bishop hath been by 
corrupt custom appropriated to one, and that unto him ascribed, 
and by him assumed, as in other things, so in the matter of ordi- 
nation, that was not meet : which ordination, notwithstanding, be- 
ing performed by him, a Presbyter joined with other Presbyters, 
we hold for substance to be valid, and not to be disclaimed by 
any that have received it; and that Presbyters so ordained, be- 
ing lawfully thereunto appointed and authorized, may ordain 
other Presbyters," &,c. 

Other testimonies might be adduced, but it is unnecessary. 
The views of Baxter and Lazarus Seaman have been adduced. 1 
Owen is very strong : " For the right and duty of rule is," says ha, 
" inseparable from the office of elders, which all bishops or pas- 
tors are."' " Some there are," he adds, " who begin to main- 
tain that there is no need of any more but one pastor, bishop or 
elder, in a particular church, other elders (whom he elsewhere 
calls assistants) for to rule being unnecessary." 2 

Milton will also represent the opinions of his time. In his 
Treatise of Christian Doctrine, he says : 3 "The ordinary minis- 
ters of a particular church are presbyters and deacons. Pres- 
byters are otherwise called bishops bishops 

and presbyters must therefore have been the same." 

Elsewhere he says : " Bishops and presbyters are the same to 

1 See Baxter on Episcop. ch. iii. pp. 11, 12, 156 ; Pt. ii. p. 5 ; and Dispul. 
on Ch. Gov. 218. 

2 Works, vol. xx. pp. 478, 480, 481. See, also, Lord Brooke on Episcopacy, 
p. 2; Professor Jameson's Fundamentals of the Hierarchy, pp. 55 and 213 ; 
Dr. Alexander's Hist, of the Westminster Assembly, p. S8 ; Jameson's History 
of the Culdees, pp, 330-332. 

3 Vol. ii. pp. 180, 181. 



152 



APPENDIX. 



us both in name and thing." 1 " It will not be denied that in the 
Gospel there be but two ministerial degrees, presbyters and dea- 
cons." 3 " Through all which book can be nowhere, either by 
plain text or solid reasoning, found any difference between a 
bishop and a presbyter, save that they be two names to signify 
the same order. 7 ' 3 " A bishop and presbyter is all one both in 
name and office." 4 

The conclusion of the whole matter then is, that among all 
the reformed churches there v/as at first undivided agreement in 
the opinion that the title of bishop belonged to presbyters or min- 
isters. They also did in fact so apply it in all their official doc- 
uments and standards, and in all their arguments with Roman- 
ists and prelatists. The term bishop therefore is the official title 
given by the reformers in common with presbyter, to the minis- 
ters of the gospel. And though, for the reasons we have given, 
the common use of this term in every day parlance was not 
thought expedient, yet we have seen that such a use of the word 
was plainly desired and ultimately expected, and its importance 
fully appreciated. 

And since the obloquy and disgrace then commonly attached to 
the very term bishop, is no longer associated with it ; since on the 
contrary it is now connected with the highest office for dignity 
and honor in a large branch of the church ; and since the very 
scripturality of the name is made a ground for supporting the 
scripturality of this prelatical office ; — it is high time that the 
public mind should be disabused, and the true nature of the Chris- 
tian ministry be held up to the public view by appropriating to 
it the name and title which were given to it by its great founder. 

So thought the framers of our standards. I do not recollect, 
nor can I find, any passage (except that in which all the various 
names of the ministry are given, with their explanations, Form 
of Government, chap, iv.) in which ministers are called presby 
ters. The word is certainly not used in the whole of our Confes- 

1 Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing, Prose Works, i. 314. 

2 Likeliest Means to remove Hirelings, &c. iii. 356. 

3 Of Prelatical Episcopacy, i. 60. 

4 Ibid. 75. See, also, page 76. 



APPENDIX. 



153 



man of Faith, but only the term minister. (See chap. xxv. § 3 ; 
chap, xxvii. § 5 ; chap, xxviii. § 2.) Neither is it employed in 
the Larger Catechism, (see Questions 108, 150, 169,) nor in our 
other standards, so far as I have remarked. 

The term most frequently employed in our standards to char- 
acterize the ministry is the word minister. (Conf. of Faith as 
above; Form of Government, chap. i. § 2 ; chap. ix. § 4; chap, 
x. § 7, 8 ; chap. xv. 2; chap. xxii. 3.) 

The word teacher is also once used as a general term for 
ministers. (Form of Government, Introduction, § 5.) 

The term pastor is also, in a very few cases, used in reference 
to the charge of a particular flock. (Form of Government, chap, 
ix. § 1, and chap. xv. § 1.) But this word " pastor" is not the 
term, as is supposed, most frequently applied to the settled min- 
isters of particular churches. The term minister is much more 
frequently applied for this purpose. (See Form of Government, 
chap. x. § 2; chap. xiii. § 4; 16 title, and sections 2, 3; Di- 
rectory, chap. ii. § 2 ; chap. iii. § 3 ; chap. v. § 4 ; chap. vi. § 1 ; 
chap, xii., Sic. 

And now as to the term bishop. In the very first place in 
which our Book defines particularly and carefully the officers 
of the church, (Form of Government, chap, iii.,) the teachers or 
ministers are expressly denominated " bishops" or " pastors," the 
two words which have the same meaning in their original deriva- 
tion. The term bishop is here used for ministers universally, 
whether they are in charge or not, and whether they are evangel- 
ists or not, just as it was used by the prophets to signify doctors 
who had no particular charge. The next chapter is headed " Of 
Bishops or Pastors," (chap, iv..) and under this heading the term 
Presbyter is given, as the fourth term applied to the office, while 
the term " bishop" is also used. It is also found in many other 
places, and in the same unlimited sense. It is not confined to a 
minister having charge of a fixed congregation. It is applied to 
the ministers who constitute (with the elders, who are carefully 
distinguished) a Synod; (Form of Government, chap. xi. § 1 ;) 
and that it is here to be taken in its unlimited sense, appears 
from the fact that in section second it is interchanged with the 
term " minister" So also it is applied to the members of the 

8* 



154 



APPENDIX. 



General Assembly, (chap. xii. § 2,) who are also called " minis- 
ters." (Sections 2, 3 and 7.) 

Again in chap. xvi. § 1, which is headed " Of the translation 
or removing a Minister from one charge to another/' it is said, 
" no bishop shall be translated," &,c. In the second and third sec- 
tions it goes on to speak of these same " bishops" as " ministers." 

Again in our Book of Discipline, chap, v., we are instructed as 
to " Process against a Bishop or Minister." 

In a note to chapter iv. of the Form of Government it is ex- 
pressly thought, that " as the office and character of the Gospel 
Minister is particularly and fully described in the Holy Scrip- 
tures under the title of Bishop — and as the term is peculiarly ex- 
pressive of his duty as an Overseer of the flock, it ought not to be 
rejected" 

This judgment of our church we believe to be important, 
and worthy of being carried out into practical application at the 
present time. Romanism and prelacy are making desperate ef- 
forts to sustain the divine right and title of their apostolical suc- 
cession of " bishops," with all its consequent claim to an exclu- 
sive possession of the marks and elements and grace of the true 
church of Jesus Christ. Now this doctrine we believe to be the 
mark of the beast, the very evidence and proof of Antichrist, 
and the blasphemy of the foretold usurper who should sit in the 
temple of God as God, and arrogate to his unchristian system of 
formalism and superstition the name, title, and attributes of God's 
visible church. We are bound therefore to contend earnestly 
against this radical error, from which so many other errors 
spring ; and by laying our axe to the root of the tree, most cer- 
tainly destroy its baneful and destructive growth. 

Now to our mind it seems clear that this whole pyramid of error 
took its rise from the early and gradual appropriation of the scrip- 
tural term bishop to the unscriptural and man-made prelate. 
For by covering himself with the garb and character of God's true 
ministry, the wolf got undiscovered entrance into the fold, and 
remained unobserved, until by his gradual efforts he had secured 
to himself power and might, when he was enabled to throw 
aside his sheep's clothing and subject the simple-minded and un- 
thinking sheep to his imperial and irresistible sway. And by the 



APPENDIX. 



155 



very same process by which the wolf got into the fold, is he to 
get out. Full many of the thoughtless sheep are still led only 
by outside appearances, and are therefore satisfied that prelates 
are what they pretend to be, because they wear God's own heaven- 
appointed title, undisputed and uncontradicted. Names are 
things. 1 They are realities. They speak louder than books 
or refutations, and are heard by those who cannot and who 
will not read. And from our own efforts to find out the truth 
in the case, we*are verily of opinion that three-fourths even of 
the most intelligent prelatists could give no better reason for 
believing in their " Bishop' 5 than the fact that he is a bishop, 
and that the Bible most assuredly speaks of bishops. 

We are therefore called upon, not only in our standards, but 
in our official documents and daily usage, to proclaim abroad and 
in the ears of all men, that prelatical bishops are deceivers and 
impostors; that they are wolves in sheep's clothing; — and that 
they are the thieves of whom our Saviour speaks, who came not 
in by the door, but climbed up some other way into the fold. 
They are they who, when the good man of the house was asleep, 
came in and took possession, and having robbed him of his^" good 
name," turned him out of doors, proclaimed themselves masters 
of the house, and then proceeded to beat the Lord's servants and 
unmercifully to abuse and enslave them to their vile ends of cor- 
ruption and heresy. 

Such a common and familiar use of the term bishop, not to 
the exclusion of any other, but in interchange with them, we 
are under obligation to adopt. 

It is due to God, and is positively required at our hands. 
It is said indeed, that because the term bishop has been so long 
appropriated in this way; that its original sense would not be un- 
derstood without a comment, and that therefore, "to avoid the 
trouble, let our ministers be called by that name by which they 
are most generally known." 

Now is there not a glaring inconsistency between these pre- 
mises and this conclusion 1 By whom is this appropriation made ? 

1 On this subject see Coleridge's Aids to Reflection, p. 152, Eng. ed., and 
Taylor's Ancient Christianity, vol. i. p. 74. 



156 



APPENDIX. 



By the reformers ? — No, they unanimously rejected it. By the 
framers of our standards? — No, I have shown that they openly^ 
and loudly and constantly protested against it. By the church 
of Scotland ? — No, I have given proof that she has always demand- 
ed and is now reclaiming this too much disused title. By the 
Congregationalists? — No, they too are now contending for the 
truth in this matter. By our Baptist friends ? — No, they too are 
restoring the word to its proper and familiar usage. By our own 
church? — No, in her published records you fitfd her ministers 
put down as bishops — while in many of her synods and presbyte- 
ries the same proper custom is adopted. This robbery then is 
sanctioned only by the depredators — and is this a reason for al- 
lowing them a peaceful possession of stolen goods ? Surely not. 

Have we a right to allow prelatists and Romanists this peace- 
able appropriation ? I trow not. This is not a matter of indif- 
ference, but of moment. Did not the Holy Ghost himself ex- 
pressly make and denominate presbyters bishops ? Is not this 
solemn truth more than once distinctly affirmed in Scripture? 
(See Acts 20 : 28, and 1 Peter 5 : 2.) And does not the same di- 
vine Spirit every where in the Bible use the term bishop and the 
term presbyter for one and the same ministry? Have we then 
any liberty to lay down or to disuse this title? Have we any pow- 
er to allow corrupters of God's word and ordinances to appropri- 
ate this title to diocesan prelates — the fruitful source of all ec- 
clesiastical evils? Can we, as Christians — as Presbyterians — who 
are set for the defence and maintenance of the truth, give place 
to such unhallowed perversions of God's Word, and abuse of 
God's Holy Spirit? 

But we may do so, it is said, to avoid the trouble of giving a 
comment ! And is it thus we act in reference to the equally ap- 
propriate claim to " catholicity" — to " the one holy and apostol- 
ical church" — " the true church" — " penance"— " confession" 
— " regeneration" — " priest" — altar" — " sacrifice" — and many 
other similar things ? Is it not the glory of our church that 
she is a protestant — that is, a protesting — church, continually 
bearing her testimony for all that is truth, and against all that is 
error — whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear ? Let 
us then for God's sake — for the truth's sake — for the sake of a 



APPENDIX. 



157 



pure Bible, and church, and ministry, and worship — proclaim 
with all our might that our ministers are the true scriptural 

BISHOPS, lAND THAT PRELATES ARE USURPERS OF A TITLE TO 
WHICH THEY HAVE NO ONE SINGLE CLAIM OR QUALIFICATION, AC- 
CORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES. 

We are required therefore from duty to God, and to his in- 
spired word, and to our belief in its full and plenary inspiration, 
and the designed intention with which it has ordained all that 
pertains to the church and its ministry, to retain, and use, and 
glory in the name and title of bishop ; and to contend earnestly 
against those who have audaciously set themselves in opposition 
to the Lord and his anointed servants. But consistency not less 
than duty and a sense of justice, demand the same course. We 
affirm that the term bishop is synonymous with the term minis- 
ter. So thought our reformers, and so teach our standards eve- 
ry where. And yet while other claimants daily and constantly 
deny our teaching, and appropriate this title to an order of 
ministers whom we regard as introduced by men, and not by 
God, shall we tamely allow them the undivided use of a title which 
our divine Master placed as a diadem around our brow; told us 
to wear as a crown of honor ; and which we can never forfeit or 
lay aside, without disgrace, dishonor, and defeat? Such a use of 
this title therefore we owe to ourselves, to our Protestant brethren, 
to God who called us to this liberty ; and not less to those who, to 
their own injury and to the injury of the church of Christ, com- 
mit such crying sin against the truth, inspiration and integrity of 
the Bible, and against the rights of the church universal. 

We are called to this duty in self-defence. Our standards 
already proclaim to the world our claim to the title of bishop. 
Our arguments with prelatists every where assume and urge 
these claims* And whatever opprobrium, or misconception, or 
abusive imputation of ambitious or improper motives may be 
made, are now and have been incurred. We are already, and 
necessarily, implicated in all this evil, if evil it be. And we are 
so while we reject the common use of this term, without the 
opportunity of self-defence, and in an attitude of glaring incon- 
sistency and cowardly timidity which bespeaks conscious diffi- 
dence in the justice of our claims. But by boldly, openly, and 



158 



APPENDIX. 



as men, assuming our divine title, we will then make it neces- 
sary for those who know not the truth to find it out, and for 
those who do not think upon it, to lay it to heart and feel all its 
impressiveness and force. 

It has been urged indeed in opposition to this course, " that 
the term bishop, ever since the word was adopted from the Sax- 
on, has been given to a superior order of clergy, and that 
general use has fixed that signification of the term." It is there- 
fore argued, that since the term bishop is exclusively a Saxon 
word, and has ever designated a superior order of clergy, Pres- 
byterian ministers cannot employ it without absurdity and con- 
tradiction. 

Now the basis of this argument we reject as contrary to fact. 
It is not true that the term bishop is exclusively Saxon, or that it 
has always been allowed to mean a superior order of clergy, such 
as prelates. This we will prove by the testimony of Richardson 
and Webster. Such objectors have been misled by the partial 
exhibition of the true relations of this word as given by Dr. 
Johnson. 

" This word," (Bishop,) says Richardson, 1 "upon the in- 
troduction of Christianity found its way into all the 
European languages. A. Saxon, bisceop ; Dutch, bischop ; 
German, bischof ; Swedish, biskop ; French, evesque ; Italian, 
vescovo; Spanish, obispo. A bishop," he adds, " is literally 
an overlooker, an overseer." This is the only meaning he gives 
the word. 

" This Greek and Latin word," says Webster, 2 giving the 
Greek and Latin forms of the word Bishop, " accompanied the 
introduction of Christianity into the west and north of Eu- 
rope, and has been corrupted into the Saxon, biscop ; Swedish 
and Danish, biskop; Dutch, bisschop ; German, bischof ; Italian, 
vescovo; French, evesque; Spanish, obispo; Portuguese, bis- 
po; Welsh, esgob; and Irish, easgob ; in Arabic and Persic, 
oskof." And the two first meanings given to the word, are — 
" 1. An overseer or spiritual superintendent, ruler, or director • 

1 Dictionary of the English Language. 

2 Ibid, edition of 1841. 



APPENDIX. 



159 



~. In the Primitive Church, a spiritual overseer ; an Elder or 

Presbyter; one who had the pastoral care of the church."' 
Now, from these facts and statements it is manifest — 
l« That the term bishop is a corruption of the Greek word 

episcapos, the first letter being left off, and p softened into 6, thus 

making biscop. 

'2. That the Greek word episcopos used in the New Testament 
to designate the ministry, was, from the very introduction of 
Christianity , carried with the Gospel and the ministers of the 
Gospel, into all the languages of the countries into which Chris- 
tianity was introduced. 

3. That the various churches in all parts of the world, in 
order to designate the ministry of the Gospel, did not adopt a 
term which had been used among them to imply a superior order 
above some inferior order, but did, by express design, adopt, in 
some modified form of pronunciation, the original term given to 
the ministry by the Holy Ghost in Scripture. 

4. That the term bishop is not Saxon, but the Greek word 
rpiscopos shortened into piscopoSj thence into piscop, and thence, 
for the sake of euphony, into biscop and bishop. 

5. That in the primitive use of this word, in all parts of the 
world, and in all languages, it meant, not a superior order of 
clergy, but just what it means in the word of God, " an elder 
or presbyter, one who had the pastoral care of the church." 
And if the reader will look into the author's work on " Presby- 
tery and Prelacy," (see pp. 1 11-114, fctf.,) he will find abundant 
proof from the fathers to show that the term continued to be re- 
garded in the same light for centuries. 

The English term bishop is therefore the Greek term epis- 
copos, modified so as to suit the idiom of the language. Now 
what is the meaning of the Greek term episcopos throughout the 
New Testament ? Let Bishop Onderdonk answer. "The name 
bishop," says this prelatic champion, " which now designates 
the highest grade of the ministry, is not appropriated to that 
office in Scripture. That name is there given to the middle 
order of presbyters ; and all that we read in the New Testament 
concerning bishops, (including of course the words overseer and 
oversight,) is to be regarded as pertaining to that middle grade." 



160 



APPENDIX. 



Such is the admission of Bishop Onderdonk, which no man of 
understanding will now venture to gainsay. And what then is 
and must be the inference ? It is manifestly this, that since the 
English word bishop is the Greek word episcopos, only in a 
modified form, the English term bishop can of right refer only 
to the order of presbyters, and not to the higher grade of prelates. 
The term bishop does not, and cannot, by any use of man, be 
made to mean a superior order of clergy; but is exclusively ap- 
plicable to the one order of presbyters. 

■ This whole argument is, therefore, a flimsy sophistry, founded 
on a baseless assumption, which is the very reverse of the truth 
in the case. 

Now, as we regard this question, it is a matter of great and 
momentous consequence. It involves the whole question of the 
Divine inspiration and authority of the sacred volume ; the 
supremacy of God's word ; and the sovereignty and headship of 
Christ, as the only lawgiver and legislator of his church. God 
seems to have thrown around this matter the most solemn and 
unutterable sanctions, for it is explicitly declared that presbyters 
are' made and denominated episcopoi, that is, bishops, " by the 
Holy Ghost." Here the title of bishops is given by the Holy 
Ghost to presbyters, and not to any superior order of clergy. 
The word bishop is not then an old Saxon term for a superior or- 
der of officers, but-is expressly, and by design, the original Greek 
term modified and altered, so as to become a Saxon and English 
word. 

Is this, or is it not, the case? If it is — and who can deny 
that it is? — then who is he that will dare to sanction the appro- 
priation of this term to an order of clergy superior to pres- 
byters? What is this but to assume Divine prerogatives; to 
undo what God has done ; to unsay what God has said ; to gain- 
say the Holy Ghost himself; to tread under foot the inspired 
volume; and by the authority of man to alter and subvert the 
teachings of heaven? We have no more right to alter the de- 
cision and teaching of God respecting the title bishop, than we 
have respecting the doctrine of justification by faith. The one, 
as much as the other, is above our reach and beyond our power. 
We have no liberty in this matter. It is not a question of ex- 



APPENDIX. 



161 



pediency at all. It is a matter of revelation, and of plain, positive, 
and commanded duty. 

" But for fifteen centuries," it is said, " the world has at- 
tached to the term bishop the idea of a superior order of clergy/' 5 
And what is that to us ? For the same time it has overturned 
the order of Christ's house and the doctrines of Christ's gospel, 
and taught for doctrines the commandments of men. Our creed 
is not found in the faith or practice of the last fifteen centuries, 
but in " the word of God that liveth and abideth for ever." 
Here is our faith, and woe is unto us if we do not teach what- 
soever is here commanded, even though it be " one of the least 
commandments." 

" But the assumption of the title bishop, will inevitably sub- 
ject us to popular suspicion and ridicule." Let it do so. Let 
men laugh at us, and have us in derision. This is not our busi- 
ness or our concern. Duty is ours. God has spoken, and we 
cannot alter his declarations. We must obey God rather than 
men. We must do nothing less than God requires, and all that 
he requires. And as he has, by the Holy Ghost, given to pres- 
byters this title of bishop, it is our duty to give it to them also. 
But all this dread of ridicule is pusillanimous and cowardly. 
The world cannot meet the question and ridicule us. They will 
themselves be put to shame. Our use of the term will lead to in- 
quiry, and inquiry to conviction, and conviction to the commenda- 
tion and imitation of our course. Whether we can alter current 
views or not, in this case we are bound to try, and, as far as we 
are concerned, to persist. The world is as much against our 
doctrines as against our polity. But both are of God, and both 
must be held forth, whether men will laugh or curse, hear or 
forbear. Neither will we bear our testimony in vain. Other 
denominations are joining us, and most assuredly the time is 

COming, WHEN THE TITLE BISHOP, GIVEN BY THE HOLY GHOST TO 
PRESBYTERS, WILL BE GIVEN TO NONE BUT PRESBYTERS. 

Other objections might be distinctly noticed, and have been 
replied to elsewhere, but it is unnecessary, as they have been al- 
ready indirectly adverted to, or altogether removed. We will 
only notice one or two remaining difficulties. So plain and so 
particular are our standards on this subject," it has been said, 



162 



APPENDIX. 



" that when a man is ordained a minister, sine titulo, he is not 
called a Bishop at all, but an Evangelist ; that is, a presbyter, 
not bound to any particular parish or cure — a presbyter like 
about one-half of those in our church; for I presume at 
least that proportion were either ordained evangelists or are 
acting as such. It is supremely idle to call a man bishop 
whose relation to a cure of souls is not sufficient to warrant our 
calling him, in any proper sense, even an evangelist." 

We are very much amazed at the statements in this objec- 
tion. The definition here given of an evangelist, so as to serve 
the purpose of the objector, is not that given by the standards, 
or the usage of our church. Our standards define this office in 
chapter xv. and chapter xviii. of " The Form of Government." In 
chapter xv. § 15, an evangelist is defined to be one ordained 
" to preach the gospel, administer sealing ordinances, and or- 
ganize churches in frontier or destitute settlements" And in 
chapter xviii., he is in like manner spoken of as " a missionary 
sent to any part to plant churches or to supply vacancies, and or- 
dained without relation to particular churches." 

Our Book, therefore, does not plainly and particularly attach 
the term evangelist to all ministers who may at any time be with- 
out charge. Neither would the term be understood, if used in 
reference to a minister who is at the time not in charge of a con- 
gregation, though locally occupied in some other business of the 
church. And we have already seen that our church, in her pub- 
lic standards, plainly, and indubitably , and repeatedly , employs 
the term bishop for ministers universally , whether they are in 
charge or not. That our church has done wrong in ordaining 
men when they were not sent forth as evangelists, nor installed 
over any particular charge, is unquestionably true. But this 
evil is not remedied by withdrawing from such persons the name 
of bishop, but by the church courts taking heed not to lay hands 
suddenly or unadvisedly on any man. 

But we proceed to notice the last objection. " While I am 
on this topic," says the same eminent objector, " let me suggest 
a collateral doubt. If it is a bishop that we all must be, then 
bishop be it. But in this case none but bona fide bishops can 
sit in our church courts." 



APPENDIX. 



163 



In this objection, the author assumes the very point in dis- 
pute, to wit, that they only are bona fide bishops, who are placed 
over some particular church, whereas the contrary has been 
made incontrovertibly plain. Our standards do not thus use the 
term bishop, but use it in a general sense, as applicable to all 
ministers who have been ordained. So much, therefore, for these 
objections to the use of the term bishop. Whether they have any 
manner of weight in them, w T e leave our readers to judge; cer- 
tain it is that "the use of the term is authorized and required by 
our own Standards — by the Word of God — and by all the Pres- 
byterian churches throughout the world — and also by expedien- 
cy, consistency, and a due regard to our own character and 
standing. 

This objector adds : " Let us not go too fast. Our fathers 
were wise men, and we shall find, if we will carefully exam- 
ine, that their smallest doings had sense in them, and Scrip- 
ture for them. Some think we are all very wise too, and per- 
haps we all are. I only suggest doubts." 

Now the sarcasm here is entirely misapplied, and turns only 
its keen edge against its author. He is the innovator. He 

LIBELS THE WISDOM AND GOOD SENSE OF OUR FATHERS. He 

it is who would oppose the use of a term for which, as even lie 
alloics, we have the unquestionable sanction of Scripture. His 
doubts are therefore baseless. They neither rest on the authori- 
ty of our standards — of our fathers — or of Scripture. That in 
Scripture the term bishop is employed as a general title, and ap- 
plied to all ministers our objector allows, whatever more extend- 
. ed application he may suppose it to have. That it is thus used 
in our own standards, we have abundantly shown. And that it 
was thus used by our fathers, " whose smallest doings had sense 
in them, and Scripture for them," we have fully demonstrated. 
Let the objector then be assured of the perfect truth and appli- 
cability of what he says, and which we cordially adopt ; " One 
thing I find, and I find it more and more as I advance in years, 
and therefore more wary; there is often more in a thing than one 
sees at first. So I am well satisfied it is here ; and for one, I 
stand by old land-marks." 

Let us then, without fear or shame, ridicule, or banter, or 



164 



APPENDIX. 



the absurd imputation of vanity or ambition — let us introduce 
familiarly the use of the title bishop in that sense in which it has 
been given in Scripture, and ever used by our fathers, and by our 
present standards. 

We will only add, as one additional reason, that to the use of 
this title of bishop in all our ecclesiastical proceedings and 
public references and advertisements, we are urged by the wide- 
spread unanimity with which churches of every name, and in 
every land, are now reverting to this practice, and* openly acting 
upon it. We had noted down many references to the common 
and designed use of this word in the works and periodicals of 
many different denominations, both in this country and in Eng- 
land ; but the practice has now become so common, that any 
specification would be useless. The formal determination has 
been made by many bodies in this country to introduce this term 
into their customary proceedings. This has been done by some 
of the New-England Associations, by the Baptist denomination, 
by the Lutheran church, and by many Presbyterian bodies. It 
is now very common in Scotland ; is under consideration among 
the Congregationalists ; is, to some extent, supported by the 
Wesleyan body; 1 and has, as we were informed in Ireland, occu- 
pied the attention of the Congregational body in that country, by 
one of whose ministers we were requested to prepare this sum- 
mary of our views upon the subject. 

The adoption of the term bishop equally concerns all denom- 
inations, and if all unite in the practice, or even a considerable 
number, the term will come sufficiently into use to secure the 
ends in view. For ourselves, we regard the matter as of great, 
practical moment ; and while it can do no harm, it will, we think, 
accomplish much good. The use of the term we are not at lib- 
erty to abolish, if we could ; and every reason forbids such a dis- 
use of it, if it were allowable. Not only is it true, as we have 
said, that to many the common and apparently unquestioned use 
of the term authenticates the scriptural claims of prelatical bish- 
ops, but it is also true, (and to this closing remark we ask spe- 
cial attention,) that from this established use of the word even 

1 See Powel on the Apostolical Succession. 



APPENDIX. 



165 



the most learned advocates of prelacy are in the constant habit 
of inferring the existence of such prelaticai bishops in the early 
ages and writers of the Christian church. We have met with no 
writer on the Episcopal side of the question, not excluding the 
late, but now degraded Bishop Onderdonk, who does not pur- 
sue this most Jesuitical and irrational mode of defence. Why 
thev do so is very obvious, since this play upon words is the only 
possible pretence by which the earliest writers can be forced to 
speak like Episcopalians, or make out even three of the many 
orders which the prelacy has made essential to the church. But 
how they can do so, in common honesty, is another question, 
which is very far from being open to an easy explanation. When 
such writers are compelled to do so, they will assume great credit 
for candor by admitting that in Scripture the terms bishop and 
presbyter are synonymous. But instead of arguing from this es- 
tablished meaning of the word in interpreting the fathers, — until 
these fathers themselves teach us that a different interpretation 
had been adopted by them, however wrongly, — they assume, on 
the contrary, that because at a late period in the history of the 
church the word bishop undoubtedly did mean an order claiming 
higher powers than presbyters, that therefore it must be under- 
stood in this sense in the very earliest ©f 'the fathers. But the 
same reasoning would justify the interpretation of the word bish- 
op in this prelaticai sense in the Scriptures, which they admit 
cannot be the case ; and it would also justify all the other here- 
sies and abuses which the Romish church bases upon the present 
conventional use of such words as priest, high-priest, altar, pe- 
nance, confirmation, confess, &c. 

The importance, therefore, of familiarizing the minds of men 
with the true and only proper meaning of the word bishop — for 
let it never be forgotten that this is a term which the Holy Ghost 
has thought fit himself to define and appropriate — must be appa- 
rent. With this meaning clearly before them, they will be pre- 
pared to read the early fathers, or passages from them, under- 
standing^, and not through the medium of Episcopal bias and 
unrighteous prejudice : and they will not therefore be soreadv, as 
thousands have been, to fall into the trap laid for them by crafty 
men, who lie in wait to deceive and ensnare souls into their dan- 



166 



APPENDIX. 



gerous and delusive system. And if at any time it is important, 
and our duty, to preserve men within the limits of that church 
which we believe to be most accordant to the pattern laid down 
in the mount ; how much more is this the case now, when the 
distinction between low and high church Episcopalians has been 
openly discarded even by such organs as " The Episcopal Re- 
corder ;" when the low church party, represented by the Cecils, 
the Newtons, the Venns, and the Scotts, no longer exists in any 
avowed form or to any extent ; when the lowest Episcopalians 
now to be found are " Evangelical High-Churciimen (a 
contradiction, and an absurdity ;) and when the only ambition 
now found among this party is to exalt their denomination, and 
to reject as slanderous, all allusions to any difference or division 
or possible separation in the Episcopal church. The truth has 
now been openly and unquestionably sacrificed in that church to 
the claims of heretical unity and fictitious peace, and they who 
should be found coming out from a body now given over to the 
belief and approval of false and dangerous doctrines, are on the 
contrary found glorying in their shame. 1 

We rejoice, therefore, that in our place in the General As- 
sembly of our church some years ago, we were permitted to give 
origin to the present extended movement on this subject, by the 
introduction and subsequent discussion of the following overture, 
" Whereas in the New Testament the term bishop is used syno- 
nymously with that of presbyter as descriptive of the ministerial 
office ; whereas this term has come, by the ecclesiastical usage 
of a particular denomination, to be appropriated to an order of 
ministers claiming to be superior to, and distinct from, presby- 
ters ; and whereas from our reluctance — in consequence of its 
association with intolerance and civil jurisdiction — to employ this 
term in its original and proper signification, (as used in our 
standards,) this error has been countenanced and greatly pro- 
moted. Therefore resolved, that the General Assembly re- 
commends to all its Synods and Presbyteries to employ the term 
bishop in their regular minutes, lists, and statistical tables ; and 

1 Of course there are noble individual exceptions, but they are very much 
out of place, and impotent to stem the tide of evil. 



APPENDIX. 



167 



to all ministers, elders, and church members, to introduce the 
use of the term, as the ordinary official title of ministers, on all 
proper occasions." 

In allusion to these efforts, Mr. Lorimer, of Glasgow, in his 
Manual of Presbyterianism says :' " Episcopalians obtain an un- 
due advantage over their brethren in other communions, from 
the word " bishop " in the English language having come to de- 
scribe the overseer, not of a congregation, but of the clergy. 
This is not, however, its original meaning. It simply signifies 
an "overseer." 5 Presbyterians and Congregationalists are equal- 
ly entitled to use it as Episcopalians, and to apply it to their 
ministers as " overseers " of the Christian people. Where met 
with in Scripture, Christians should always remember that it 
means nothing but the pastor and overseer of the congregation, 
and that the same is its meaning in the earliest period of the 
primitive church. 

And in his work on the eldership, Mr. Lorimer adds : 2 "Per- 
haps it would tend to correct false impressions as to officers in 
the Presbyterian church, were the Presbyterians of this country 
to adopt the practice which is followed by their brethren in the 
United States of America,-of using only Scriptural names when 
speaking of their ecclesiastical officers. Thus, in reporting 
members to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church 
of America, ministers are styled bishops, and elders are denom- 
inated ruling elders. This restores the word bishop to its prim- 
itive Scripture meaning, and deprives our Episcopalian friends 
of an undue advantage which they possess, from the popular im- 
pression that there can be no bishops but diocesan bishops, such 
as govern the Church of England, owing to the word in common 
speech being appropriated to them. In the same way, the term 
elder would be speedily freed from absurd and unmerited re- 
proach. .More error is conveyed and perpetuated by incorrect 
names than many imagine. They exert an injurious influence 
even over minds which know better. J} 



1 Edinb. 184*2, p. 29. 



2 Glasgow, 1841, p. 44. 



NOTES. 



Note A. 

The following vindication of the order of the Free Church Assembly, on Eiders 
and Deacons, is taken from The Free Church Magazine for August. 

The Assembly's Act on Elders and Deacons. 

Two objections may be. perhaps we should say, have been, urged against 
this Act, and we propose here shortly to consider them. The one is, that too 
much power is given to the Deacons ; and the other that too much power is 
given to the Elders. 

The first objection is that too much power i3 given to the Deacons. On 
referring to Scripture, we find that the Deacon's office was established because 
of complaints that the poor were not sufficiently attended to, and the Deacons 
were appointed for the distribution of the alms of the church among such of the 
disciples as had need. " Look ye out among you," said the apostles, " seven men, 
whom we may appoint over this business.'' It is nowhere expressly stated that 
any portion of the ecclesiastical goods was to be administered by them, except 
that which was destined for the relief of the poor. — Acts 6 : 1-4 ; 1 Tim. 3 : 
8—13. Now, the objection is, that the Act of Assembly gives the Deacon a 
much more extensive charge, and invests him with authority in the disposal of 
the whole of the church's patrimony, — not only that which consists in alms for 
the poor, but also that which is designed for the support of the ministry, and 
for the erection and repair of our places of worship. 

It is true that the Act in question does all this, and that in all temporal 
matters whatever, in the whole secular business of the congregation, it places 
the Deacon on a perfect equality with the Elder, so far as determining how 
the ecclesiastical goods are to be administered is concerned, and comers on him, 
moreover, an executive function, whereby he is to give effect to the resolution 
which the office-bearers at large have seen fit to adopt. 

But we see not in this that there is any unwarrantable stretching of the Dea- 
con's office so as to make it embrace objects and powers inconsistent with, or be- 
yond its scriptural design. For it should be observed, that there were two reasons 
for the institution of the Deaconship. The one may be said to have been more 

9 



170 



NOTES. 



peculiarly the people's reason ; and the other, that of the apostles. The peo- 
ple's reason was, that the widows might not be neglected in the daily ministra- 
tion ; and the reason stated by the apostles was, that they might be enabled to 
give themselves more exclusively to their spiritual duties, and not be compelled 
" to leave the Word of God, and serve tables." From the people's reason we 
gather, that one part of the secular business of the church was sought to be 
more effectually provided for by the appointment of Deacons, namely, that part 
which related to the supply of the wants of the poor ; and from the apostles' 
reason we may conclude that the Deacons were to have to do with the whole 
matter of the daily ministration, and the service of tables ; that is to say, with the 
management of the church's whole temporal affairs. The daily ministration and 
the service of tables cannot, we conceive, be viewed as having consisted merely 
in the relief of the poor, according to the usual acceptation of the word. At 
the time when the office of Deacon was introduced, the disciples of the Lord 
had all things common, and " as many as were possessors of lands or houses, 
sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them 
down at the apostles' feet ; and distribution was made to every man according 
as he had need." Acts 2 : 44-46 ; 4 : 32-37. " Every man" had his portion 
out of that common fund. The generous donors, who had placed in it the pro- 
ceeds of the sale of their property, received theirs. The destitute widows had 
a title to theirs. So also had the apostles themselves. And out of that same 
fund must all payments have been made which were connected with the dis- 
pensation of the ordinances of Christ. It is highly reasonable, therefore, to 
conclude, that the service of tables and the daily ministration embraced all the 
ordinary disbursements of the church, and its whole temporal business ; and 
that the appointment of Deacons was resorted to for the purpose of lightening 
the burden of the apostles, in respect of the entire class of secular duties, that 
their minds might be left more free and undisturbed for the exercise of prayer, 
and the ministry of the Word. " Duties of a secular nature," the apostles sub- 
stantially said, " however important these duties may be, cannot be allowed to 
interfere with the due exercise of the spiritual functions which we are ealled to 
perform ; and when the care of the temporal concerns of the church becomes 
so weighty and engrossing as to be incompatible with the charge of men's 
souls and the preaching of the gospel, it is essential to have other office-bearers 
through whom we may obtain the requisite relief, and on whom the main bur- 
den of the outward business of the sanctuary may be devolved." 

In conformity with this view, and, doubtless, on such grounds as have been 
stated, the Second Book of Discipline say* of the Deacons, — " Their office and 
power is to receive, and to distribute the haill ecclesiastical goods unto them 
to whom they are appointed." True, it is immediately added — " This they 
ought to do according to the judgment and appointment of the Presbyteries or 
Elderships, of the which the Deacons are not," &c. ; and this may be reckon- 
ed scarcely compatible with the Act of Assembly which gives the Deacon the 
very same vote and authority in disposing of the congregational funds, as it 
gives to the Elder or the Minister. We think, however, that the power of reg- 



NOTES. 



171 



ulation here assigned to the presbyteries of the church, where the Deacons have 
no seats, may be rather regarded as analogous to the power exercised by the 
commissioners of Presbyteries in General Assembly convened, when they reg- 
ulate, either directly, or through their committees, the sustentation of ministers, 
or when they pass an act, as they did in the present case, specifying the pur- 
poses to which the church funds are to be applied, and laying down the rules 
of secular administration ; and, at all events, we are satisfied that a more 
rigid construction of the Second Book of Discipline would be less in accord- 
ance with the lessons which Scripture precedent affords us. 

The second objection which is taken against the Assembly's Act is^that too 
much power is given to the Elders. It may appear a little strange that the 
same law should be liable to objections which thus conflict with each other. 
Yet so it is. While, on the one hand, there are, as we have seen, plausible 
(although not solid) grounds for alleging that it stretches unwarrantably the 
office of Deacon, and gives power to that office-bearer beyond what the original 
institution did ; on the other hand it can be maintained, and with some show 
of reason, that the Act errs in that very particular with regard to the office of 
the Elder, and sends him out of his province to exercise authority in the Dea- 
con's department. Why, it may be asked, should we not now, in this time of 
reform, confine the Elder entirely to those spiritual duties which are so import- 
ant, and have been heretofore so much neglected, and leave the business of 
the Deacon's Court to be performed exclusively by those who have no higher 
aud holier work assigned them ? There is a seeming force in the question. Tt 
is not unfair to call upon us to vindicate the arrangement which vests the ad- 
ministration of the secular affairs of the church, not in the Deacons alone, but 
in all the congregational office-bearers together. We are bound, in fact, to 
show that the Pastors and Elders of the church can lawfully be associated with 
the Deacons, in the charge and allocation of ecclesiastical funds. 

Our argument shall be short. Four steps will bring us to the end of it. 
The first step is, that the greater office always includes the less. This is not 
a principle in the state, but it is a well-known and acknowledged principle in 
the Christian church. The meaning of it is, that the appropriate functions of 
the Deacon are competent to the Elder, and those of the Deacon and of the Elder 
to the Pastor, — in other words, that the Eider, because he is an Elder, is 
also a Deacon ; and the Pastor, because he is a Pastor, is also an Elder and 
a Deacon. The superior office-bearer may not always exercise the powers of the 
inferior one, but he is always capable of doing so, and will exercise them, if need 
be. Hence, the Pastors of the church are spoken of, not only as teachers, but as 
rulers of the flock ; that is to say, the special function of the Eldership belongs 
to them. Heb. 13 : 7, 17. Rence, also, Peter says, " The Elders which are 
among you I exhort, who am also an Elder." 1 Pet. 5:1. And hence, in 
fine, the apostles of our Lord were Pastors, and Elders, and Deacons, in the 
church. They were Pastors ; for they fed the flock. They were Elders ; for 
they ruled it. And they were Deacons ; for the whole secular business of the 
church was performed by them, until the time of the appointment of the seven. 



]72 



NOTES. 



From all this we may infer, at the very least, that, where there are no Deacons, 
it is competent and proper for the other office-bearers to take the necessary over- 
sight of the church's temporal affairs. 

The second step in the argument is, that after a separate order of men had 
been appointed as Deacons, the higher office-bearers continued to take some 
charge of the secular concerns of the church. When Paul received the right 
hand of fellowship from the other apostles, and it was settled that he should 
labor in the Gentile field, we are told that a stipulation was made, to which 
he most cordially acceded. " Only they would," he says, " that we should re- 
member the poor ; the same which I also was forward to do." Gal. 2 : 10. 
Thus the care of the poor was devolved upon Paul at the very beginning of 
his career, and he does not appear to have ever been released from it. Twice we 
find him to have undertaken a long journey to Jerusalem, expressly as the bear- 
er of the offerings of the brethren, and for the purpose of ministering to the ne- 
cessities of the saints. We read of the first of these occasions in Acts 11 : 29, 
30, 12 : 25. In conjunction with Barnabas, he had diligently labored in word 
and doctrine at Antioch, for the space of a whole year. The Lord had vouch- 
safed large success to his servants. " A great number" had believed ; " much 
people" had been added unto the Lord. The Church of Antioch was in a 
highly flourishing condition ; and no reasonable doubt can be entertained that 
it had its full equipment of officer-bearers, — not only Pastors, but Elders and 
Deacons. Yet when " the disciples, every man according to his ability, deter- 
mined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea," they "sent it to 
the Elders, by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." Nor was this done because 
Barnabas and Saul had other business which required their presence in Jerusa- 
lem. It is said, ch. 12 : 25, that they " returned (to Antioch) from Jerusalem, 
when they had fulfilled their ministry," that is to say, when they had accom- 
plished the errand on which the disciples of Antioch had sent them. The 
work of ministering to the saints was what they had to do : they did it and re- 
turned. It deserves notice, also, that the Church of Antioch sent their contri- 
butions " to the elders" They " determined to send relief unto the brethren 
which dwelt in Judea ; which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the 
hands of Barnabas and Saul." We know that Deacons had been appointed at 
Jerusalem. It is a remarkable circumstance, therefore, and has an important 
bearing on the point now under discussion, that the Antioch offering was not 
sent to the Deacons, but to the Elders. Many years after, Paul went to Jeru- 
salem a second time on a similar errand. Standing on his defence before Fe- 
lix at Cesarea, he said, " After many years I came to bring alms to my nation, 
and offerings," Acts 24 : 17 ; and he previously declared, when writing to 
the Romans in the prospect of this visit, — " Now I go unto Jerusalem to min- 
ister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to 
make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 
When, therefore, I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, 
I will come by you into Spain." Rom. 15 : 25, 26, 28. And how warmly the 
apostle entered into the business, and what eager charge he took pf the cpl- 



NOTES. 



173 



iection, may be seen by turning to 1 Cor. 16: 1-4, and the 8th and 9th 
chapters of 2d Corinthians. We there find him rejoicing to receive the gift, 
and to take upon him the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 2 Cor. 
8 : 4, 19, 20. It appears also that Titus, an evangelist and pastor, was ac- 
tively employed in the same matter of finance and Christian liberality. 2 Cor. 
8: 6, 16-18,23,24; 9: 3-5. 

Our third step in this argument is, that the conclusion which we have thus 
drawn from Scripture, is corroborated as a sound one by the circumstance of 
its having been adopted by the Reformers, and by them embodied in the Con- 
stitution of the Church of Scotland. Take the following extracts in support of 
our assertion. 

" The office of Deacons is to receive the rents, and gather the alms of the 
kirk, to keep and distribute the same, as by the Ministers and Kirk shall be 
appointed. They may also assist in judgment with the Ministers and Elders" 
fyc. First Book of Discipline, ch. x. § 11. If it be held that the latter clause 
refers to the spiritual deliberations of the session, then we say that, a fortiori, 
the Deacons may assist the session in judgment, when the temporal concerns of 
the church are before them ; and, in such a case, have we not just the Deacons' 
Court, as defined by the Act of last Assembly ] 

" The office of Deacons is to gather and distribute the alms of the poor, 
according to the direction of the session. The Deacons should assist the as- 
sembly (i. e. the session) in judgment, and may read publicly if need requires." 
— Ane short Somme of the Buik of Discipline. 

" The receivers and collectors of these rents and duties must be Deacons or 
Treasurers, appointed from year to year in every Kirk ; — the Deacons must 
distribute no part of that which is collected, but by command of the 3Iinisters 
and Elders; and they may command nothing to be delivered, but as the Kirk 
hath before determined," &c. — First Book of Discipline, ch. viii. § 8. 

" If any extraordinary sums be to be delivered, then must the Ministers, 
Elders and Deacons consult, whether the deliverance of such sums doth stand 
with the common utility of the Kirk or not, and if they do universally conde- 
scend and agree upon the affirmative or negative, then — they may do as best 
seems ; but if there be any controversy among themselves, the whole Kirk must 
be made privy ; and that the matter be proponed, and the reasons, the judg- 
ment of the Kirk, with the Minister's consent, shall prevail." — First Book of 
Discipline, ch. viii. § 9. What have we here but the Deacons' Court again? 

" Their office and power is to receive and to distribute the haill ecclesiasti- 
cal goods, unto them to whom they are appointed. This they ought to do ac- 
cording to the judgment and appointment of the Presbyteries or Elderships," 
&c. — Second Book of Discipline, ch. viii, § 3. 

" For officers in a single congregation, there ought to be one at the least, both 
to labor in the word and doctrine, and to rule" (that is, there must be a Pastor). 
" It is also requisite that there should be others to join in government" (that is, 
there must be Elders). " And likewise, it is requisite, that there be others to 
take special care for the relief of the poor" (that is, there must be Deacons). 



174 



NOTES. 



" These officers are to meet together at convenient and set times, for the well- 
ordering of the affairs of that congregation, each according to his office" (that is, 
there must be a Deacons' Court, consisting of Pastor, Elders, and Deacons). 
" It is most expedient that, in these meetings, one whose office is to labor in the 
word and doctrine do moderate in their proceedings" (that is, the Pastor should 
preside in the Deacons' Court). — Form of Preshyterial Church Government, 
agreed upon at Westminster, and ratified by Act of Assembly, 1645. 

The fourth and final step in the argument is, that as it is now manifestly 
competent, both on scriptural and constitutional grounds, that the superior 
office-bearers of the church should assist in administering her temporal affairs, 
so it is expedient and necessary, in present circumstances, that their right and 
power to act in conjunction with the Deacons should be recognized, and the 
"exercise thereof provided for and regulated by the church. A moment's con- 
sideration will show this. Previous to the Disruption, the temporalities of the 
church were chiefly administered by the civil courts. The whole of her pro- 
perty was in their hands. The amount of stipends was fixed by them. They 
decided, in the last resort, as to the repair and building of manses, of places of 
worship, and in every question as to schools. Now, all is changed. All these 
matters are in the church's hands. And they are matters of great importance, 
although secular in their nature. The wrong adjustment of them would be 
hurtful to the highest interests of religion. To arrange and settle them in a 
proper manner often requires weight of character — always wisdom, experience, 
and knowledge of men and things. Plainly, then, it would be gross infatua- 
tion not to call in the aid of the Elders in regard to them. In many of our 
country congregations the temporal affairs of the church would go to wreck, if 
the Minister and Elders were to let them alone : and in all our congregations 
it would be extremely injudicious not to take the benefit of the services of the 
Elders, who always comprehend a large proportion of the gravest, the most sa- 
gacious, and the most influential of our members. If, indeed, it were unlaw- 
ful to give the Elders any voice as to secular things, no expediency, however 
urgent, could warrant the church in doing it. But it is not unlawful. Scrip- 
ture authorizes it. The constitution requires it. We think the Act of the late 
Assembly, on this subject, not only suited to the position of the church, but 
sound in the principle on which it proceeds. It gives the Elder no more pow- 
er than belongs to him by the Word of God, and our ancient laws. And, if it 
is fairly and patiently wrought, we anticipate the best results. 



Note B. 

Proofs that the Laity were in primitive times represented in all the Councils 
of the Church by delegates of their appointment. 

We are happy to present the following elaborate testimony as collated by 
the Rev. Thomas John Young, of John's Island, South Carolina : 



NOTES. 



175 



The primitive Councils were composed of the Clergy and Laity. The first 
Council of which we have any account, was that held for the election of a suc- 
cessor to the traitor Judas. (Acts 1 : 15.) It was evidently composed of the 
Clergy and Laity. " The number of names together were about an hundred 
and twenty." 1 The next Council, if it may be called a Council, was for the 
choice of Deacons. (Acts 6: 2, &c.) "The multitude of the Disciples" 
elected, and the Apostles ordained. The third and last Council mentioned in 
Scripture, (for I cannot consider the meeting of St. Paul with St. James and 
the Elders of Jerusalem, related in Acts 21, as a Council of the Church,) is that 
of which we have an account in Acts 15. Here, too, we find the Clergy and 
Laity assembled and deciding upon the questions proposed for consideration. 
For although in the 6th verse, the Apostles and Elders only are mentioned as 
" coming together," yet what follows, teaches us that the Laity were there also, 
and consenting to that which was determined upon. In the 12th verse it is 
said " all the multitude kept silence." In the 22d verse, " Then pleased it the 
Apostles and Elders, with the whole Church." And in the 23d verse, the let- 
ters go forth with the superscription, " the Apostles, and Elders, and Brethren 
send greeting." So much for the Councils of which mention is made in the 
word of God. 

In noticing the succeeding Councils, we must distinguish the different kinds 
which were held ; for it is only with one of them that we are now concerned 
There were General or (Ecumenical Councils, Patriarchal or Diocesan, Provin- 
cial and Consistorial Synods. 

Whether any other than Bishops or their proxies voted in the General 
Councils has not been decided. If we take the Council of Nice, the first Gen 
eral Council, as an example, it is certain, according to Eusebius and Socrates, 
that Presbyters, Deacons and Laics were present and took part in the dis- 
cussions. 8 The probability is that they also voted. But granting that they did 
not ; then the Bishops may be considered as representing the Clergy, and the 
Emperor, without whose decree the acts of General Councils were not binding, 
as representing the Laity. 3 

1) Supposing that the whole number of the seventy disciples were present, these, with 
the eleven Apostles, would make but 81 of the 120. There must have been, then, at least 
39 of the Laity present. 

2) " But in this present quire there was a multitude of Bishops, which exceeded the 
number of 250. But the number of the Presbyters and Deacons who followed them, of the 
Acoluthi, a*nd of many other persons , was not to be comprehended." Eus. Ec, His. lib. iii. c. 
8. Eng. Trans. 

" There were also present a great many Laics, well skilled in logic, ready to assist, 
each their own party," * * * " Against these [the patrons of Arius's opinions,] 
Athanasius, who was then but a Deacon of the Church of Alexandria, contended vigorously." 
Sociates Ec. His. lib. i. c. 8. Eng. Trans. 

Tn the General Council of Constantinople three Presbyters subscribe among the Bishops. 
See Con. Constant. Tom. p. 297. Bingham lib. ii. c. 19, $ 13, says that Habertus gives several 
other instances out of the Couocil of Chalcedon, 2d of Nice, 8th Council, against Photius 
and others. See also Jewel's Apology, c. vi. $ 12. 

3) S«e Barrow, Pop. Supremacy. Supposition vi. § 3, page 200, edition A. D. 1700. 



176 



NOTES. 



That others, besides Bishops, sat and voted in Patriarchal and Provincial 
Synods, (the latter corresponding to our General Convention,) is demonstrable 
from ancient history and the acts of those Synods. 1 The evidence for which, it 

1) " Upon thi8 account [the Novatian schism] a very great Synod was assembled at 
Rome, consisting of sixty Bishops ; but of Presbyters and Deacons the number was greater." 
A. D. 251. Eus. Ec. Hist. lib. vi. c. 43. Eng. Trans. 

" These men [referring to some who had been carried away by the Novatian schism, but 
were now returning to the Church] * * divulged all his subtle devices and villanies * * in 
the presence both of a sufficient number of Bishops, and also of a great many Presbyters 
and Laics." Com. Ep. ad Fab. Eus. Ec. H. lib. vi. c. 43. Eng. Trans. 

At the Council of Antioch, held A. D. 269 or 270, Presbyters, Deacons and Laics were 
present. Eusebius, lib. vii. c. 28, after mentioning the names of several of the Bishops, says, 
" and a great many more may be reckoned : who together with Presbyters and Deacons, were 
.convened in the aforesaid city, &c. &c." The Circular letter of that Council runs in the 
name of certain Bishops and Presbyters, (whose names are given,) and of 44 ail the rest of the 
Bishops of the neighboring cities and provinces which are with us, the Presbyters, and Dea- 
cons, and the Churches of God." Eus. Ec. His. lib. vii. c. 30. 

" We ought to take notice," says Valesius, in a note on the above passage, "of the in- 
scription of this Epistle : For we find here, not the names of Bishops only, but also of Pres- 
byters and Deacons, and of the Laity also. The same we may see in the acts of the Council 
of Carthage [A. D. 256], in which Cyprian was President, and in the Council of Eliberis" 
[A D. 305]. 

Council of Eliberis, A. D. 305. " Residentibus etiam 36 (al 26) Presbyteris^ adstantibus 
Diaconibus et omni plebe." Con. Elib. Procem. 

Council of Aries, A. D. 314. In the Imperial rescript, by which Constantine summoned 
Chrestus, Bishop of Syracuse, to this Council, we find the following: — 

k 4 Ev£ev£a£ aeavrd icai 6vo ye nvag riov ek tov Ssvrepov^Jpovov" associating with you two 
of the second throne [or order]. Eus. Ec. Hist. lib. x. c. 5. 

The names of most of the Bishops who attended the Council of Aries are lost, as well as 
many of those of the Presbyters, "yet the names of 15 Presbyters are yet remaining." 
Bingham lib. ii. c. 19,$ 12. Con. Arelat. i. in catalogo eorum consilio interfuerunt. 

Council at Rome, under Hilary, A. D. 465. " Residentibus etiam universis Presbytcris s 
adstantibus quoque Diaconis, &c. &c." Con. Rom, ap. Justel. Tom. i. page 250. 

Council at Rome, under Felix, A. D. 487. The names of seventy-six Presbyters are men- 
tioned that sat together with the Bishops in Council, the Deacons standing by them, &c. 
Con. Rom. ap. Justel. Tom. i.,p. 255 

Council at Rome, under Symmachus, A. D. 499. Sixty-seven Presbyters and six Dea- 
cons subscribed in the very same form of words as the Bishops did. " Subscripserunt Pres- 
byteri numero 67. Ccelius Laurentius Archipresbyter tituli Praxedis hie subscripsi et con- 
censi Synodalibus constitutis, atque in hac me profiteor manere sententia," &c. Con. 
Rom. ap. Justel. Tom. I., p. 259. 

Council at Rome, under Symmachus, A. D. 502. Thirty-six Presbyters are named. 
" Residentibus etiam Presbyteris t Projectitio, Martino, &c. Adstantibus quoque Diaconis^ 
&c. Con. Rom. ap. Just. Tom. i., p. 261. 

Council at Bracara, A. D. 563. " Considentibus simul Episcopis, prssentibus quoque 
Presbyteris, adstantibusque ministris vel universo Clero.^ Con. Bracar. i. 

Council at Toledo, A. D. 589. " Convenientibus Episcopis in Ecclesia ' } considentibus 
Presbyteris, adstantibus Diaconis," &c. Con. Tolet. i. 

In the Appendix to Chidley's edition of Jewel's Apology, I find the " ancient form for 
holding Church Councils." "It is given by Isidore, and from him by Hardouin." I sub- 
join an extract from it. 

" The order according to which the sacred Synod should be held in the name of God. 

" At the first hour of the day, before sunrise, let all be cast out of the church ; and the 
entrance being barred, let all the door-keepers stand at the one door, through which the Pre 



NOTES. 



177 



is not necessary to cite, as our concern is with a still lower Council, correspond- 
ing to our Diocesan Conventions. As, however, our Conventions, whether 
General or Diocesan, are formed on the model of the Convocation of the Church 
in England, it will be well, in this stage of our argument, to inquire how that 
body was constituted. 

It was divided into two houses. The upper house, prior to the Reformation, 
was composed of Bishops, Spiritual Vicars of absent Bishops, Custodes Spir- 
ituals of vacant Bishoprics, Abbots and Priors. The lower house, of Deans, 
Archdeacons, a Proctor for each Chapter, a Proctor for each Convent, and two 
Proctors for all the Clergy (totumque Clerum) in each Diocese. 1 After the 
Reformation, the upper house was composed of the Bishops ; and the lower 
house of the Deans, Archdeacons, a Proctor for every Chapter, and two Proc- 
tors for the Clergy of every Diocese. Here all the Clergy of every grade were 
represented ; and the Laity exercised their suffrage, not in the Convocation, 
but through the Parliament ; for no act of the Convocation was binding on the 
whole Church, until confirmed by an act of Parliament, or by the King. 

We are now prepared to consider the fourth kind of Councils — the Consis- 
torial or Diocesan. 

By a Diocesan Council or Convention, I mean that body, to which, with 
the Bishop, is intrusted the conduct of the principal affairs of a Diocese ; and 
these affairs, I contend, were managed by the Bishop, the whole Clergy, and the 
Laity. These two last being always distinguished from each other, and acting 
personally, or by their representatives. 

It is a common maxim, drawn from the opinions of the Fathers, that " quid 
ad omnes pertinet, omnium consensu fieri debet" — what concerns all should be 
done by the consent of all. Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, A. D. 251, in one of 

lates are to enter. And let all the Bishops, assembling, go in together and take their seats 
according to the time of their consecration. When all the Bishops have come in, and taken 
their places, next let those Presbyters be summoned, whose admission the nature of the case 
in hand seems to warrant 3 and let no Deacon intrude himself among them. After this may 
be admitted the more eminent of the Deacons, whose presence is required by the regular 
form of proceedings. And a circle being made of the Bishops' seats, let the Presbyters sit 
down behind them ; those, namely, whom the Metropolitan has selected to be his assessors, 
such, of course, as may act with him both in judging and pronouncing sentence. Let the 
Deacons stand in sight of the Bishops ; then let the Laity also enter, who, by choice of the 
Council, have obtained the privilege of being there. Moreover, the notaries must also come 
in, as is directed by the regular forms for reading documents and taking notes. Then the 
doors being fastened, and the Prelates sitting in long silence, and lifting up their whole heart 
to the Lord, the Archdeacon shall say — 1 Pray ye !' and presently, &c. &c." 

From the preceding testimony, taken together, it is evident that both the Clergy and La- 
ity had voice in Patriarchal and Provincial Synods. The principle which placed them 
there will appear in the course of the following remarks. The manner of their election, 
and the influence which they exercised in these Synods varied with the varying condition or" 
the church, and with the views held at different periods and in different countries of the right 
of the governed in framing the laws by which they were to be affected. 

1) See the King's writ to Archbishop Warham for summoning a Convocation ; and the 
Archbishop's writ to the Bishop of London for the same purpose. Records iii. and iv. Bur- 
set's Hist. Ref. See also Addenda i. same work. 



■ 



178 



NOTES. 



his Epistles to Cyprian, uses an expression very like this : " Quid circa perso- 
nam eorum observari deberet, consensu omnium statueretur." 1 That which 
concerns their office should be determined by the consent of all. And by this 
principle, Cyprian, in his Epistle ad Clerum, declares his determination to 
abide : " That we might order and correct those things which the common in- 
terest demands concerning the government of the Church, they having been 
considered in a Council of very many. * * * * On my first entrance on my 
Bishopric, I determined to do nothing on rny private judgment, without your 
advice and the consent of the people. But when, by the favor of God, I shall 
have come to you, we will act together." 2 Such was his determination, and 
such his practice in very many instances, 3 It was the principle which prevailed 
in primitive times, and which, if now acted upon in this assembly, would gain 
all, and more than all that is contended for. 

That the Church, that is, the Clergy and Laity, gave their suffrage in the 
choice of these their officers, in the time of the Apostles, is evident from the 
cases to which reference has already been made — the election of a successor to 
Judas, and the choice of the seven Deacons ; — and none can read the Epistles 
to Timothy and Titus, without being convinced that the consent of the Church 
was necessary for the ordination of the Bishops and Deacons, whose qualifica- 
tions for office are therein recorded. Of the practice of the Church in the ages 
succeeding the Apostles, we take the testimony of Dr. Wall of the Church in 
England, whose knowledge of Christian antiquity none can question, and using 
his language, say, " That the primitive Church in the age next to the Apostles 
always made use of the suffrage of the people in the choice of their officers ; 
not only of Deacons, but of their Presbyters, and especially of their Bishops. 
The Bishop of any Diocese appointed or ordained such Presbyters as the 
people by their general suffrage appproved of: and when any Bishop died, the 
Clergy of that Diocese with the consent of the people, chose another, commonly 
one of their own body ; and then some of the neighboring Bishops came, and 
laying on hands, with public prayer, ordained him. And both these things, 
the election of the Clergy and people, and the ordination of some Bishop or 
Bishops, were counted essential to the being or right of a Bishop." ***** 
" This," he adds, " was the usage and practice of the whole Greek and Latin 
Church for a thousand years and more, and that continued constantly without 
interruption, except two or three encroachments ; such as in so long a space 

1) Cornelius Ep. 46 (al 49) ad Cyp. p. 92, 

2) Cyprian Ep. 6 (al 14) ad Clerum. " Ut ea quae circa Ecclesias gubernaculum utilitas 
communis exposcit, tractare simul, et plurimorum consilio examinata limare possemus. * * 
duando a primordio Episcopatus mei statuerim, nihil sine consilio vostro et eine consensu 
plebis mea privata sententia gerere : Sed cum ad vos per Dei gratium venero— in commune 
tractabimus. 

3) See Cyp. Ep. 33 (al 38) ad Clerum. " Tn'ordinationibus Clericis solemus vos ante con- 
sulere, et mores ac merita singulorum communi consilio ponderare." See also Ep. 24 (al 
29) ad Cler.— also Ep. 34 ad Cler. " He would not," says Bingham, lib. ii. c. 19, $ 8, "so 
much as ordain a sub-deacon, or reader, without their consent." See also Cyprian's Epis- 
tles, referred to and quoted by Barrow in his " Treatise on the Pope's Supremacy," Sup. v. 
$ 10, page 159 of the folio Edition, A. D. 1700. 

4 



NOTES. 



179 



are found in the history of any law, rule or practice whatsoever, whether human 
or Divine/' 1 

The testimony of the Fathers and ancient Councils is conclusive on this 
point. This testimony is familiar, and I will not occupy time by citing more 
than two or three witnesses, unless the fact be disputed and the evidence called 
* for. 2 Clement, A. D. 65, whose name St. Paul tells us was " written in the 
Book of Life," who conversed with and was instructed by the Apostles them- 
selves, bears his testimony to the fact that the Clergy were chosen " with the 
consent of the whole Church." 3 Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, A. D. 250, in his 
Epistle to Fabius, Bishop of Antioch, incidentally mentions a fact which is per- 
fectly conclusive. Something in the baptism of Novatian had been considered 
irregular. On this account he was " denied orders," says Cornelius, " by all the 
Clergy and many of the Laity" and " the Bishop entreated license might be 
granted him to ordain that one person." 4 We have the testimony, to the same 
effect, of Origen, A. D. 230, 5 Cyprian, A. D, 250, 6 Gregory Nazianzen, A. D. 



1) " Critical Remarks" upon some select passages of Scripture, published in 1730. 

Dr. Barrow says, " The general practice was this : The neighbor Bishops (being advertised 
of a vacancy or want of a Bishop.) did convene at the place ; then in the congregation, the 
Clergy of the place did propound a person, yielding their attestation to his fitness for the 
charge j which the people hearing, did give their suffrages, accepting him, if no weighty cause 
was* objected against him ; or refusing him if such cause did appear : Then upon their re- 
commendation and acceptance, the Bishops present did adjoin their approbation and consent ; 
then by their devotions and solemn laying on of their hands, they did ordain or consecrate 
him to the Function." Pop. Suprem. Sup. vi. § 6, p. 203 fol. 

Again, he says, " We may, by the way, observe, that in the first times they [Roman 
Bishops,] had not so much as an absolute power of ordaining a Presbyter in the Church 
of his own city, without leave of the Clergy and people*" Page 208, fol. ed. of 1700. 

Bishop Bilson says, " In the Primitive Church the people did choose, name, elect and de- 
cree, as well as the Clergy." Perpet. Gov. Ch. c. 15. 

Dr. Cave says, " At all ordinations, especially of superior officers, the people of the place 
were always present, and ratified the action with their approbation and consent." Prim. 
Christ, p. 240. 

2) Some of this evidence, for much of which I am indebted to Barrow, Bingham, Valerius, 
c. &c, will be found in the succeeding notes. 

3) Clem. Rom. Ep. i. ad Cor. § 44, Archbishop Wake's trans. 

4) Cor. ad. Fab. Euseb. lib. vi. c. 43. " 'Ynd navros rov KMpov, d\\a Kal haiK&v 
7roXXo5i/." 

5) Origen in the close of his last book against Celsus, speaking expressly of the consti- 
tution of Churches or cities of God, affirms of the rulers of the Church, that they are 
M £K\eyo[xevoi, chosen to their office by the Churches whichthey rule." 

6) Ep. 52 (al 55). " Factus est autem Cornelius Episcopus de Dei et Christi ejus judicio, 
de Clericorum pene omnium testimonio, de Plebis, quae tunc adfuit, suffragio." Cornelius 
was made bishop by the judgment of God and his Christ, by the testimony of almost all the 
Clergy, by the suffrage of the peoplevfho were then present. 

Ep. 68 (al 67) ad frat. Hispan. u Ordinatio justa et legitima, quse omnium suffragio et 
judicio fuerit examinata." That ordination is just and lawful which shall have been deter- 
mined by the suffrage and sentence of all. 

Ep. 68. A. D. 257, in the name of the African Synod. " Plebs ipsa maxime habent pro- 
testatem vel eligendi dignos sacerdotes, vel iudignos recusandi." The people have the power 
either of choosing worthy priests, or of rejecting those who are unworthy. 



180 



NOTES. 



370, 1 Ambrose, A. D. 374, 2 Jerome, A. D, 378, 3 Siricius, A. D. 385, 4 Theo- 
doret, A. D. 423, 5 Celestin, A. D. 423, 6 Socrates, A. D. 439, 7 Sozomen, A. D. 
440 , 8 Leo Magnus, A. D. 440. 9 This last, after stating the Church's rule, lays 
down also the principle on which it was based : — " Qui prafuturus est omni- 
bus, ab omnibus eligatur." — He who is to preside over all, should be chosen by- 
all. 

The Councils of Carthage, under Cyprian, A. D. 25 6, 10 Nice, A. D. 

1) Gregory Nazianzen commends the election of Athanasius as being after " the exam- 
ple of the Apostles, because he was chosen ipfjfpov tov \aov ttolvtos — by the suffrage of all the 
■people. Gr. Naz. Orat. 21. 

Speaking, in his life of Gregory Thaumaturgus, of Carbonarius, Bishop of Comana, he 
says that " although pointed out by special Divine revelation, yet before he was ordained he 
was unanimously chosen by the whole Church." Tom. 3, p. 502. 

2) Ep. 82. " Electio et vocatio quse fit a tola Ecclesia vere et certe est Divina vocatio 
ad munus Episcopi." The election and calling which is made by the whole church, is truly 
and certainly a Divine call to the office of a Bishop. 

Amb. Com. in Luc. lib. viii. c. 17, addressing the people of Milan says — {l Vos enim mihi 
estis Parentes, qui sacerdotium detulistis : Vos, inquam, Filii vel Parcntes; Filii singuli, uni- 
versi Parentes." Ye are my Fathers who chose me to be Bishop : Ye, I say, are both my chil- 
dren and Fathers j Children in particular, Fathers all together. 

3) In Ezek. lib. x. c. 33. " Speculator Ecclesise, vel Episcopus vel Presbyter, qui a Pop- 
ulo electus est." The watchman of the Church, either a Bishop or a Presbyter, who was 
chosen by the people." 

4) Ep. i. ad. Himer. Tarracon. c. 10. " Presbyterium vel Episcopatum, si eum Cleri ac 
Plebis evocaverit electio, non immerito societur." If the election of the Clergy and people 
shall have called him to the Presbytership or Episcopate, he is deservedly associated. 

5) Lib. i. c. 7. He says of Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch, " ip-fyy koivi) KarrjvayKao-av 
dpxieprts ts Kal UpeTs xai aras b \ecos" Both the Chief Priests [Bishops] and Priests and 
all the people compelled him by a common suffrage. 

6) Ep. 2. c. 5. " Nullus invitis detur Episcopus. Cleri, plebis, et ordinis consensus et 
desiderium requiratur." Let no Bishop be given to the unwilling. The consent and desire 
of the Clergy and people is to be required. 

7) Lib. vi. c. 2. He says that Chrysostom was chosen xf/rjfiaixan Koivti bpov irdvrwv, 
K\fipoi) te Kal \aov — by the common vote of all, both Clergy and Laity. 

8) Sozomen speaking of Chrysostom, says, " The people and ^Clergy having voted it, the 
Emperor gave his consent." 

9) Ep. 84 ad Anast. c. 5. " Cum de summi Sacerdotis electione tractabitur, ille omnibus 
prseponatur, quem Cleri Plebisque consensus concorditer postularit j ita ut si in aliam forte 
personam partium se vota diviserint, Metropolitani judicio is alteri prseferatur qui majoribus 
et studiis juvatur et meritis,"&c. When it is to be determined concerning the election of a 
Bishop, let him be preferred to all, whom the joint consent of the Clergy andpeople shall have 
demanded ; but if, by chance, the votes of the parties shall have been divided, he should be 
prefeired, by the decision of the Metropolitan, who is supported by the greater number of 
votes and the higher merits," &c. 

Ep. 89 ad Epis. Vien. " Expectarentur certe vota civium, testimonia populorum ; quse- 
reretur honoratorum arbitrium, electio Clericorum. Q,ui praefuturus est omnibus, ab omnibus 
eligatur." Certainly the votes of the citizens, the testimony of the people should have been 
waited for ; the will of the gentry, the election of the Clergy should have been sought. He 
that is to preside over all, should be chosen by all. 

10) Cyprian Ep. 68 (al 67) Synod. Ep. African. Synod. " Plebs ipsa maxime habet potes- 
tatem vel eligendi dignos Sacerdotes, vel indignos recusandi." The people themselves chiefly 
have the power of choosing worthy Priests, or refusing the unworthy. 



NOTES. 



181 



325, 1 Antioch, A. D. 341, 2 Alexandria A. D. 361 or 362, 3 3d of Carthage, A. D. 
397, 4 4th of Carthage, A. D. 399, 5 Chalcedon, A. D. 451, b " Aries, A. D. 452, 7 
Auvergne or Clermont, A. D. 535, 8 3d of Orleans, A. D. 538, 9 5th of Orleans, 



1) Synod. Ep. Con. Nic Soc. Ec. His. lib. i. c. 9. Eng. Trans. [Melitian Bishops] " shall 
have no power to propose or nominate whom they please." 

" And if it shall happen that some of those who now hold ecclesiastical preferments die, 
then let those [Melitian Bishops, &c] **** be preferred to the dignities of the deceased; 
provided that they shall appear worthy, and that the people shall freely elect them; provided 
also that the Bishop of Alexandria doth, by his suffrage; ratify and confirm [the people's 
election.' 5 ] 

2) Calv. Instit. lib. iv. c. 4, $11, says of this Council, " Hoc igitur in Concilio Antioche- 
no vetitum est, ne quis invitis ingeratur." This therefore is forbidden by the Council of 
Antioch, that any one should be forced upon those unwilling to receive him, 

3) Bingham, lib. iv. c. 2, $ 11. " The Eusebian party made it an objection against him 
[Athanasius], that he had not the choice of the people : but the Bishops of Egypt assembled 
in Synod, in their Synodtcal Epistle do with great earnestness maintain the contrary, assert- 
ing that the whole multitude of the people of the Catholic Church, as if they had been all 
united in one soul and body, cried out requiring Athanasius to be ordained Bishop." Ep. 
Synod. Concil. Alex. ap. Athen. apol. 2, t. 2, p. 726. Jla S 6 Xad$ — ipcfioaiVj Ixpa^ov, 
airovi'reg ' Aflavdciov ztxiukottov. 

4) This Council decreed, 11 That no Clergyman be ordained, who has not been examined 
by the Bishops, and approved by the suffrages of the people." Curries' Jus. pop. p. 306, 
1733. 

5) Con. Car. 4, c 1. " Cum consensu Clericorum et Laicorum etconventu totius provincias 
Episcoporum, maximeque Metropolitani vel auctoritate vel praesentia ordinetur Episcopus." 
A Bishop may be consecrated by the consent of the Clergy and Laity, and the agreement of the 
Bishops of the whole Province, and, especially by either the authority or presence of the 
Metropolitan. 

Can. 22. " Ut Episcopus sine consilio Clericorum suorum Clericos non ordinet ; ita ut 
civium assensum et conuiventiam et testimonium quserat." A Bishop may not ordain 
Clergymen without the consent of his Clergy ; and he shall also obtain the assent, approbation 
and testimony of the citizens. 

Con. Car. 4, c. 3. " Presbyter cum ordinatur, Episcopo eum benedicente et manum su- 
per caput ejus tenente, etiam omnes Prcsbyteri, qui prsesentes sunt, manus suas juxta man- 
um Episcopi super caput illius teneant." When a Presbyter is ordained, the Bishop bless- 
ing him and holding his hand upon his head, let all the Presbyters also, who are present, hold 
their hands upon his head near the hand of the Bishop. 

6) Act. xi. This Council declares for the Ephesians having a Bishop chosen by all the 
flock whom he was to feed — " xapa -olvtojv tlov juWovrcov TroiuavzKrOai xp^icrouevog." 

Act xii. declares that a Bishop shall be settled by the election of all the flock lo be fed — 
<f £| s-lXoyng iravTuiv rdv [xeWovtcov rroiuaveiaOai xbnfyicrouEvov" 

7) Con. Arelat. 2, c. 54. £; Placuit in ordinatione Episcopi hunc ordinem custodiri, ut 
tres ab Episcopis nominentur, de quibus Clericivel Civeserga. unum habeant eligendi potesta- 
tem." This order must, be observed in the ordination of a Bishop. Three shall be nomi- 
nated by the Bishops ; one of whom the Clergy and citizens shall have the power of choosing. 

8) Th s Council determined " that a Bishop should be raised omnium electione et non pau- 
corumfavore — by the election of all, and noi by the favor of a few." Cur. Jus. pop. p. 310, 
1733. 

9) Canon 3d determined " that the Bishops of the Province should be chosen by the 
Clergy and People ,-" assigning the reason, " Qui praefuturus est omnibus, ab omnibus eliga- 
tur." He who is to preside over all, should be chosen by all. 



182 



NOTES. 



A. D. 549, 1 3d of Paris, A. D, 559, 2 Barcelona, A. D. 599, s 4th of Toledo, 
A. D. 633, 4 2d of Cabilone, A. D. 649 , 5 3d Constantinople, A. D. 680, 6 all tes- 
tify the same ; so that we may fearlessly lay down, as maxims of antiquity, the 
rules already quoted — " Quid ad omnes per tinet, omnium consensu fieri debet;" 
" Qui pr&futurus est omnibus, ab omnibus eligatur." I will not allow my- 
self to suppose, even for a moment, that any here present will reject the senti- 
ment expressed by the " judicious Hooker." " For of this thing/' he says, " no 
man doubteth, namely, that in all Societies, Companies, and Corporations, what 
severally each shall be bound unto, it must be with all their assents ratified. 
Against all equity it were, that a man should suffer detriment at the hands 
of men, for not observing that which he never did, either by himself or others, 
mediately or immediately agree unto. ***** In this case therefore espe- 
cially, that vulgar axiom is of force : ' Quod omnes tangit, ab omnibus tractari 
et approbari debet.' " 7 I cannot also but hope that our brethren of the Laity 
will agree to take the converse of the proposition laid down by Innocent, A. D. 
402, quoted by the same Hooker — " Sicut Laici jurisdictionem Clericorum 
perturbare, ita Clerici jurisdictionem Laicorum non debent minuere " — and 
grant that as the Clergy ought not to abridge the jurisdiction of the Laity, so 
the Laity ought not to take away the rights of the Clergy. 8 

1) Canon xi. " Sicut antiqui Canones decreverunt, nullus invitis Episcopus, sed nec per 
oppressionera potentium personarum ad consensum faciendum Cives aut Clerici, quod dici ne- 
fas est, inclinentur." As the ancient Canons have decreed, let no Bishop be given to those 
unwilling to receive him. Neither let the citizens or Clergy be influenced, which it is un- 
lawful to say of any, to give their consent, by the oppression of great men. 

2) Con. Par. 3. " Et q jia in aliquibus rebus, &c." " Because in some things the ancient 
custom is neglected, and the decrees of the Canons violated ; it is thought good, according to 
the ancient custom, that the decrees of the Canons be observed, and that no Bishop be or- 
dained [Civibus invitis] if the citizens be unwilling, nor unless he be heartily invited by 
the election of the people and Clergy, and by the command of the Prince, &c. &c." Cur. Jus. 
pop. p. 311, 1733. 

3) Con. Barcinon. Can. 3. By this Canon it was decreed that the Clergy and Laity should 
nominate three, and that the Metropolitan and Provincial Bishops should cast lots which 
one of the three was to be ordained. Bingham, lib. iv. c. 2. $ 17. 

4) This Council decreed " that none should be esteemed a Bishop, but he that was *\o- 
sen by the Clergy and people of the city." Cur. Jus. pop. p 31 1, 1733. 

5) " Si quis Episcopus de quacunque civita^e defunctus, &c." " If a Bishop in any city 
be removed by death, the election of another shall not be but by the neighboring Bishops, 
the Clergy and his oion citizens; if otherwise, let his ordination be esteemed void." Cur. 
Jus. pop. p. 312. 

6) Of this Council, Calvin says, " Adeo autem caverunt sancti Patres, ne ullo pacto im- 
minueretur heec populi Lbertas, ut quum Synodus Universalis Constantinopoli congregata Nec- 
toiium ordinaret, id noluerit sine totius Cleri et populi approbatione, ut sua ad Synodum Ro- 
manum epistola testatum es ." The holy Fathers were so careful that this privilege of the 
people should in no degree be diminished, that when the universal Council assembled at 
Constantinople wished to ordain Nectorius, it could not be done without the consent of all the 
Clergy and people ; as is testified by their own Ep stle to the Roman Synod. 

7) Ecc. Pol. lib. viii. p. 447. Dobson's Edit. 1825. 

8) It is interesting to trace the gradual decline of the fear of clerical influence in this 
Diocese. 

In the Convention of 1804, it was determined that "on the business which should como 



NOTES. 



183 



Note C . 

The tendency of Congregationalism. 

Pure Congregationalism we believe to be as impracticable in the church as 
a pure democracy in the state, and both to be subversive of ail government and 
society, and a return to the condition of nature, or of families, which is the next 
thing to it. Congregationalism, as it now exists, has so far allied itself to the 

before them, the Convention should vote by Parishes /" (Dalcho, p. 488 ;) consequently the 
Clerical vote was merged in the votes of the Laity ; and if there were more than one Lay- 
Delegate from a Par sh, the Clerical vote was worth nothing. 

In 1806, the '• Rules and Regulations, &c." which form the basis of our present Consti- 
tution, were adopted. By Rule III. (Dalcho, p. 496.) *' The officiating Clergy of the Prot* 
Ep. Churches of this State shall be deemed, ez-oficio, members of this Convention." 

In 1807. it having been ascertained that under that Rule no Clergyman had a right to vote 
in Convention, (Dalcho, p. 500.) it was amended by adding " with a right to vo e with the 
Lay Delegates, provided that such right shall not appertain to the officiating Clergyman of 
any particular Church, in cases where Lay-Delegates have not been appointed " Here the 
Clerical vote was still merged in the Lay-vote ; and where no Lay-Delegates were appointed 
the Clergyman had no vote. 

In 1808, (Dalcho, p. 503,) the Vestry of St. Philip's Church addressed a letter to the Con- 
vention declaring that 'hey disagreed to the article giving the Clergy a right to vote. They 
instructed their Delegates to propose an amendment by adding the words " or shall not at- 
tend." After considerable debate, the proposed amendment was iejected. 

In 1809, (Dalcho, p. 507,) a further amendment was made giving the Clergy a right to 
vote, no Lay-Delegate attending, upon his producing a certificate from the Vestry of his 
Church of his being authorized by them to do so. 

In 1810, (Dalcho, p 511.) the motion was renewed to prevent a Clergyman from voting 
when his Lay-Delegates were not present; and was postponed to the next Convention. 

It appears that there was no meeting in 181 1 ; and in 1812, (Dalcho, p. 516,) the motion 
was taken up. and indefinitely postponed. The article was then amended giving the Clergy 
" a right to vote on all matters requiring the suffrages" of the Convention. 

In 1813, (Dalcho, p. 524,) it was determined that the Bishop should " always be, ez-ojficio, 
President of the Convention." 

In 1814, (Dalcho. pp. 530 and 532,) ihe third rule was again amended, limiting the suffrage 
of the Clergy to mat'ers not involving the temporal concerns of the Churches, except author- 
ized to vote on those matters by their Churches. 

In 1821, (page 21 of the Journal,) on a revision of the Rules, it was proposed to allow 
the vote by orders. This was lost, there not being a constitutional majority of two-thirds ; 13 
churches voting fur. and 7 churches against it. In ihe same year Missionaries were allowed 
a seat in the house. 

Ill 1624, (Journal, p. 19,) the Constitution was amended so as to allow the vote by orders. 
Thus giving a death blow to long-existing pr judic* s and jealousies. 

The extern to which his jealousy was formerly carried in this State was to reject aho- 
gether the office of Bishop (see the au hor's work on Presbytery and Prelacy p. 528 and 538) 
on account of i's hi. rarchical despotism. Now the laity are crushed b.-nea'h the idol car of 
tins dominant h erarch. so that even a Rhetor is foici d to express rejoicing in ;he pros'ra<ion 
of hu laity and in his own permission to be evt n one of th« " mferioi clergy." As i' is now 
it is die to talk of the righ s or power of the laity in the Ep ; scopal church, since in a vote by 
onl rs f al! the lai y aie opposed by a majority of the cl rgy th. y are overruled, and THE 
BISHOP can veto both. 



184 



NOTES. 



principles of Presbyterianism as to adopt practically many of the essential fea- 
tures of the system. But pure Congregationalism as it formerly existed, and as it 
now exists in some parts of England, must be either a monarchy or na anarchy. 
M. Beverly, Esquire, thinks that as found in England it is an ecclesiastical mon- 
archy. " Certainly," he says, 1 " we might on a lower ground embarrass the 
Congregational dissenters, by requesting them to explain the monarchical form of 
their ministerial government ; for, whatever may be their opinions of the min- 
isterial office, this is certain, that they cannot, and would not, endeavor to de- 
fend the monarchy of the ministry, by reference to the Scriptures, or even to 
the well-known records of the first and second centuries of church history. All 
the Congregational dissenters have, in practice, rejected the plurality of minis- 
ters, and have settled down into the monarchical form of government, without 
the pretence of an argument in favor of such an arrangement. Hence, they are 
endeavoring to circulate opinions favorable to a large increase of clerical power ; 
which, if it should be successful, would place them in a higher position with 
regard to the laity, than even the Presbyterian clergymen : for the Presbyterian 
must submit to the decisions of his clerical brethren in general assembly and to 
his lay brethren in the session ; but in the Congregational system, each church 
is independent, and therefore the Congregational clergymen would govern, 
unchecked by an appeal, in the convenient arrangement of an independent 
monarchy." 

Such also is the view taken of the system in England by the Rev. Mr. Cum- 
ining of London. 2 " Where the minister," he says, " is popular and able to 
fill his pews with plenty of seat-holders, he can, as he does generally, play the 
absolute despot. His deacons are his servants, and his members are his sub- 
jects. But where the minister is a man of moderate talents, as most men are, 
neither attractive nor popular, the case is wholly altered. Mr. Angel James's 
jiORD deacons then start into power ; church-meetings record their convictions 
of a " dying interest ;" and the poor man is cashiered by the same democracy 
that called him into prominence. Such a man is not an independent minister ; 
he is rather the minister of an independent congregation. This system is op- 
posed alike to the word of God, the first principles of all social existence, and 
the interests of ministers and of people." 

On the other hand the Plymouth brethren have set up the government of 
the brethren to the exclusion of any government by a pastorate or ministry. 
So that with them the laity are every thing and the ministry nothing. 3 Here 
we have ecclesiastical anarchy. 

In pure Congregationalism, therefore we have unbounded equality, but not 
perfect freedom, since there are no intermediate bodies or powers to protect 
the people from the dominion of the pastor, or of any leader in the congrega- 
tion ; or on the other hand to protect the pastor from the anarchical ebullition 

1 ) Heresy of Human Priesthood, p. ii. and xii. 

2) Apology for the Church of Scotland, p. 12. 

3) Dr. Vaughan's Congreg. pp. 176, 177. 



NOTES. 185 

of popular disaffection. The system of pure Congregationalism is therefore 
wholly unlike our republican or representative system. Whatever analogy 
may be found to it in any single congregation, there can be none discovered in 
the system as a ichole. There is in it no principle of union, or confederation, 
no delegation of powers, no balance of responsibilities, and no mutual re- 
cognition of responsibility and co-operation ; and as a system of government 
therefore, Congregationalism can have no resemblance whatever to a confeder- 
ated government, which out of many bodies constitutes one ; nor even to a state 
government, which implies the union of many townships and districts. It is in 
short no system of ecclesiastical government at all, but a number of ecclesias- 
tical families living under one civil government, and by it held together, but 
having no ecclesiastical existence as a body, except so far as it adopts practi- 
cally the essential principles of a presbyterial or confederated government. 



[The following should have been inserted at the bottom of the Note on 
page 10.] 

See also the Biblical Repertory for January, 1845, p. 54, etc., where it is 
fully shown that the grant of the keys by Christ was not to the ministry merely, 
but to the whole church. 

" Our divines/' says Mr. George Gillespie in his assertion of the government of 
the Church of Scotland, Part I. ch. 4," prove against papists that some of these, 
whom they call laics, ought to have a place in the assemblies of the church, 
by this argument among the rest ; because otherwise the whole church could 
not be thereby represented. And it is plain enough, that the church cannot 
be represented, except the hearers of the word, which are the far greatest part 
of the church, be represented. By the ministers of the word they cannot be rep- 
resented more than the burghs can be represented in parliament by the noble- 
men, or by the commissioners of shires ; therefore by some of their own kind 
must they be represented, that is, by such as are hearers, and not preachers. 
Now some hearers cannot represent all the rest except they have a calling and 
commission thereto ; and who can these be but ruling elders ? And again, when 
the Council of Trent was first spoken of in the Diet at Wurtemberg, Anno 
1522, all the estates of Germany desired of Pope Adrian VI. that admittance 
might be granted, as well to laymen as to clergymen, and that not only as wit- 
nesses and spectators but to be judges there. This they could not obtain, 
therefore they would not come to the council, and published a book, where 
they allege this for one cause of their not coming to Trent, because none had 
voice there but cardinals, bishops, abbots, generals, or superiors of orders, whereas 
laics also ought to have a decisive voice in councils. If none but the min- 

9* 



186 



NOTES. 



isters of the word should sit and have a voice in a synod, then it could not be a 
church representative, because the most part of the church (who are the hearers 
and not the teachers of the word) are not represented in it. A common cause 
ought to be concluded by common voices. But that which is treated of in coun- 
cils, is a common cause pertaining to many particular churches. Our divines, 
when they prove against papists, that the election of ministers, and the excom- 
munication of obstinate sinners, ought to be done by the suffrages of the 
whole church, make use of this same argument ; that which concemeth all, 
ought to be treated of and judged by all." 

So argued one of Scotland's noblest sons, and a representative in the West- 
minster Assembly of Divines. And such, also, are the general views of the 
Presbyterian church. (See Jameson's Cyprianus Xsotimus, pp. 554-556 and 
540-544. 



THE 



PRELATICAL DOCTRINE 

OP 

APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION 

EXAMINED, 

AND THE PROTESTANT MINISTRY DEFENDED AGAINST THE 
ASSUMPTIONS OF POPERY AND HIGH CHURCHISM, 

Iii a Series of Lectures. 

BY THOMAS SMYTH, 

Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Charleston, S. C. 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 
Overture adopted by the Synod of S. Carolina and Geo. at its session in 1841, 

That the publication of works intended to advocate the distinctive order and 
polity of our church should be encouraged^ and their circulation among our 
people rendered as general as possible ; and it having come to the knowledge of 
this Synod, that one of their number, the Rev. Thomas Smyth, of Charleston, 
has recently given to the Church, among other valuable publications, ' An Eccle- 
siastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church, for the use of Families, Bible 
Classes, and Private Members,' — and a series of lectures on 'The Prelatical 
Doctrine of Apostolical Succession Examined, and the Protestant Ministry 
Defended against the Assumptions of Popery and High-Churchism.' Therefore, 
Resolved, That the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia regard with pleasure 
and approbation these publications, as containing an able defence of the divine 
authority of the Protestant Ministry, and a full and satisfactory exposition of the^ 
order and government of our Church ; and as demanded by the present state of 
the controversy on these subjects. And the Synod does, therefore, cordially 
recommend the said publications to all our Ministers, Elders, and private mem- 
bers, as works of high value, and calculated to advance the intelligence of our 
Church, on our distinctive peculiarities and doctrines. 

Extract from a review of the work in the Eiblical Repertory, for Jan'y, 1841 . 

{ This book does no small credit to the industry and talent of the author. The^ 
importance of his subject, the correctness of his views, and the abundance of 
materials which he seems to have had at his command, entitle his performance to 
the most respectful notice. The author- s mind is not only strong but lively, and 
his book exhibits traces of both qualities. The natural, (and may we not say,) 
national, vivacity with which he seizes on his topics and discusses them, 
enlivens in a very satisfactory degree even those parts of the subject which 
might otherwise have proved most irksome and fatiguing. In a word, the book, 
(which by the way is elegantly printed.) may be freely commended to the favor- 
able notice of the public : and we doubt not that wherever it is read it will be 
useful, in apprising those who read it what the high church doctrine really is, and 
on what grounds it may be most triumphantly and easily refuted : " 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



From the Southern Christian Advocate. 

* We have the pleasure to announce the probable publication of these Lec- 
tures at no distant day. As far as opportunity has allowed it, we have attended 
Mr. Smyth's course, and been both pleased and edified. Pleased, in witnessing 
a fine combination of candor, kindness, and strength, in the discussion of difficult 
and soul-rousing questions. Edified, in listening to a vigorous discussion of 
important first principles, where the lecturer was master of his thesis, and 
backed his reasoning by extensive authority of the highest value in this contro 
versy. This volume, in which the Prelatic Doctrine of Apostolical Succession 
is considered, will be highly valuable to the theological student.' 

From the Christian Intelligencer, of the Reformed Dutch Church, N. Y. 

1 This is an exceedingly neat volume of five hundred and sixty-eight pages, 
beautiful in its mechanical execution, and upon a subject of grave and exciting 
importance. The work is seasonable, and from the cursory examination which 
we have as yet been able to give to it, we believe that it will prove to be exceed- 
ingly valuable. The work before us, at the present crisis, is seasonable and 
necessary. It is more ample in its discussion than any that preceded it. It is 
the result of much and patient research, and will be found to reflect credit alike 
upon the talents and learning, and we will add also, the temper of the author. 
He has rendered the Protestant community a debtor. ' We desire that the work 
may have the widest circulation, and receive the careful perusal both of Episco- 
palians and Christians of every other name.' 

From the Christian Advocate and Journal, of the Methodist Church, N. Y. 

1 This is a large octavo volume. The author makes thorough work of his 
subject, examining the pretensions of Prelacy with care and candor, and expos- 
ing their fallacy with unanswerable force and perspicutity. He gives the claims 
which are set up by Popery and High-Churchmen in their own language, and 
refutes them by arguments drawn from reason, church history, and Scripture. 
The Christian world seems to be waked up anew to the high and exclusive 
claims of Prelacy by the astounding assumptions of the Oxford divines ; and 
we admit that such a book as that before us seems to be called for by the occa- 
sion, and will no doubt be read with great interest.' 

From the New York Evangelist. 

* A large and elegant octavo volume, on a most important topic. Its object is 
the examination of the claims of the Popish hierarchy, and of that portion of the 
clergy and laity of the Episcopal Church which sympathizes with them, to the 
exclusive right to the functions and privileges of the Christian ministry and 
Church. These claims, always unscriptural, have of late assumed new arro- 
gance and vigor, by the brief currency of the Oxford publications, and the 
greatly quickened zeal of the Papacy among us. The time has certainly arrived 
when their exclusive notions should be subjected to the searching test of reason 
and scripture. If there are those among us who will vauntingly assume that theirs 
is the only, the valid ministry, that with them are to be found the only author- 
ized ordinances of salvation, that there is no safety but within the pale of their 
own denomination ; let their pretensions be sifted, and the emptiness of their 
claims be exposed by the clear light of truth. That such a contest with the 

Erinciple of Prelacy is yet to be waged, and that it is to be abandoned, there can 
e no doubt. We hail every effort to throw light upon the subject. Mr. Smyth 
has entered vigorously upon the field of controversy, and has spared neither 
pains or strength to do it justice. He has gone over the whole ground in a more 
extended manner than any writer before him in this country, and in an able 
manner.' 

From The Presbyterian. 

c The volume before us contains a very full and minute discussion of the doc- 
trine indicated in its title, and is to be followed by another which will vindicate 
the claims of Presbyterianism. The necessity of the work arises from the 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



3 



increasing boldness and arrogance with which the Episcopal Church obtrudes 
its claims as the only true church, with the only valid ordinances, and the only 
divinely constituted ministry. As to the manner in which he has accomplished 
his task, we are disposed to judge very favorably, from the necessarily partial 
manner in which we have been able to examine his work. He has acquired a 
clear and distinct view of the question discussed in all its bearings, and to each 
specific point he has brought a mind stored with the fruits of extensive reading. 
~\Ve have admired the extent of his research, and his diligence in learning all 
that had been said by preceding writers which could throw light on the discus- 
sion ; and indeed we have rather regarded him as too redundant in his authorities ; 
a fault, by the way, not ofteat committed in this age of jumping at conclusions. 
Mr. Smyth states the question of Apostolic succession, so much in the mouth of 
modern Episcopalians, and he views it in all possible lights, weighs it in just 
balances, and pronounces it wanting. He not only proves that the assumption 
is unscriptural and unreasonable, but he traces the boasted succession, and 
shows its broken links, and finds after all the flourish of trumpets, that prelatisls 
are glorying in a mere shadow. He carries the war, moreover, into the enemy's 
camp, and lie carries off many trophies. Mr. Smyth is undoubtedly an able 
controversialist, and prelatists will find him well armed at all points, if they are 
disposed to attack.' 

From the Southern Christian Advocate. 

* The work before us is, we believe, the first distinct treatise published in this 
country on the subject of the Apostolical Succession, and in opposition to its 
arrogant assumptions. A very ably argued and well written work has been 
recently given to the English public, entitled 'An Essay on Apostolical Succes- 
sion,' by the Rev. Thomas Powell, a Wesleyan minister, of which Mr. Smyth 
makes honorable mention. We consider, therefore, the publication of these 
Lectures as a valuable contribution to the religious literature of the time, 
demanded withal by the claims of that portion of our common Christianity, 
which is so unfortunate as to have no participation in the anointing oil of pre- 
latical consecration, and which lies beyond the range of apostolico-succession- 
covenant blessing. Mr. Smyth has executed his task in a candid, kind, and 
courteous spirit, while he has subjected the theory of Apostolical Succession to 
the scrutiny of a thorough, extensive, and fearless examination. Innumerable 
authorities are cited, and a copious index concludes the volume, which embraces 
upwards of five hundred and sixty-nine pages, and is gotten up in the finest 
firish of the typographical art. 1 

From the Charleston Observer. 

* Notice was taken of these Lectures while in course of delivery. They are 
now published, and with the notes, which contain as much reading as the text, 
make a large volume of five hundred and sixty-eight pages. The typographical 
execution is in the best modern style, from the press of Crocker and Brewster 
Boston. Our design, at present, is simply to apprise our readers that the work 
is published, intending at our leisure to give it a more formal notice. As the 
basis of the opinion controverted, rests upon what is familiarly known as the 
Apostolical Succession, it is here that the author has exhibited his chief strength. 
And were we to say that he has made good his position, it might be regarded as 
only a judgment expressed in accordance with previously existing prejudices in 
its favor. But we hope, on the other hand, that none will undertake to condemn 
it unread. The advocates of High-Churehism, whether Roman or Anglican, 
are chiefly concerned in the discussion, and possibly they may find in the work 
something that will moderate their exclusive zeal, and lead them to the exercise 
of more charity for the opinions of those from whom they differ.' 

From The Presbyterian. 

* Mr. Editor : — I ask room in your paper to commend this work to the attention 
of the ministers and intelligent laymen of our Church. If there be any among 
them who doubt whether a work of this sort was called for, their doubts will 
not survive the reading of the first Lecture, entitled { The Necessity for an Exain- 



4 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



ination into the Prelatical Doctrine of Apostolical Succession.' The discussion, 
therefore, in which Mr. Smyth has embarked, was provoked by the growing 
disposition among; High-Church Episcopalians, to unchurch the Presbyterian 
body, and challenge exclusive Salvation to the members of churches under 
Diocesan Bishops. His work is not an attack, but a defence — a defence con- 
ducted with great ability and skill. I venture to commend it to the notice of 
your readers, because I am satisfied they will be instructed and profited by the 
perusal of it. The lectures are evidently the result of much study, and very 
extensive research. No single volume I have seen, contains such a mass of 
authorities and seasonable testimonies, on the Prelatical controversy as this 
work. It is equally creditable to the author's talents and industry, that he should 
have found time to prepare, in the midst of his pastoral duties, an octavo of 
five hundred and fifty pages, on a subject requiring so much study, and involv- 
ing an examination of several hundred distinct works on either side of the con- 
troversy. Such labors ought not to go unrequited ; but his brethren will be ren- 
dering themselves and the cause of truth a substantial service, by placing it in 
their libraries : and it is for this reason that their attention is invited to it by one 
who has no other concern in it than that which is common to every Presbyterian. ' 

From the ITew York Observer. 

* A formidable volume this is in appearance, and on this very account will 
repel many who might otherwise be attracted to examine its pages. In a course 
of twenty-one lectures the author has, with great industry and research, and no 
mean ability as a controversialist, examined the question before him, and pre- 
sented, in the compass of a single book, a mass of testimony that must be of 
value to those whose time and means will not allow them to pursue the investi- 
gation through all the original sources, which Mr Smyth has so perseveringly 
explored.' 

From the Watchman of the South. 

1 We offer a few general remarks at present, intending at an early day to 
notice them, or at least that last named, far more fully than we usually do. One 
thing must strike every one who knows the history of the author of these works 
We refer to his industry. Without very firm bodily health, and having a very 
laborious pastoral charge, he still economizes time sufficient to bring out, through 
the press, from time to time, important contributions to the cause he loves. This 
is as it should be. Mr. Smyth is, of course, a growing minister. His influence 
and usefulness are constantly extending. It is also obvious to any one who 
reads Mr. Smyth's works, that he has, or has the use of a very good library, and 
is a man of no mean learning. His works show the importance of ministers' 
salaries being such as to enable them to 'give themselves to reading.' But Mr. 
Smyth is not a mere reader. He arranges and uses what he reads. His char- 
acter as a writer rises every year. Mr. Smyth is also ardently attached to Pres- 
byterianism. Further remarks may be expected in a week or two.' 

From the Charleston Courier. 

1 We would call the attention of all those who profess any regard for the 
literary character of our southern community, to a work recently published by 
our esteemed fellow-townsman, the Rev. Thomas Smyth, entitled ' Lectures on 
the Apostolical Succession.' Whatever may be the opinion of the intelligent 
reader on the subjects of which it treats, he will acknowledge it to be a striking 
example of extensive and profound research, and most diligent investigation 
The author appears to have enjoyed some remarkable advantages in the prose 
cution of his inquiries. Possessing, as he does, one of the best private libraries in 
this country — probably the most complete in the theological department — he has 
had access to an immense mass of authorities, not usually within the reach of 
the American scholar, and his abundant and voluminous references make hia 
book an absolute index for the use of future writers. His industry, indeed, has 
left but scanty gleanings, as it would appear, for any who may desire to follow 
him in this discussion. His style is easy and animated, and the interest of the 
reader is kept up, without nagging, through an octavo of nearly six hundred 



CRITICAL N0TICB3. 



5 



pages. We hope the success of this highly creditable effort may be such as to 
induce the learned and reverend author to complete his task, by giving promptly 
to the public the second volume of his coarse, promised in his preface.' 

From the Christian Observer. 

* From a cursory examination of this work, we think it well adapted to 
accomplish the good purposes for which it is designed It exposes and refutes 
the extravagant assumptions of High-Churchmen, who claim to be the succes- 
sors of the apostles in the ministry, exclusive of all those who reject their views 
of Prelacy. The work is worthy of a more extended notice, which shall be 
given at an early day.' 

From the Christian Watchman. (Boston — a Baptist paper.) 

4 This volume has lain on our table a considerable time, to enable us to give it 
such an examination as the subject and the merits of the book demand. The 
discussion throughout is conducted with candor, impartiality, and kindness ; and 
displays no small share of ability, learning, and diligent research. It is deci- 
dedly the most able and thorough vindication of the Presbyterian view of the 
subject which we have ever seen. The discussion, too, is timely, when Epis- 
copal popery is receiving a new impulse from the Oxford writers, whose senti 
ments find so much sympathy even in our own land. We commend the book 
therefore, to the attention of our brethren in the ministry, not as taking in every 
instance that ground which we, as Baptists and Independents should prefer to 
see taken, but as an able defence of the truth, and an extensive collection of 
authorities and facts.' 

From the Christian Examiner and General Review, (Boston,) Nov. 1841. 

1 We by no means intend to intimate that the work is ill-timed or superfluous. 
Such is not our opinion. We believe it will do good. It will meet the new 
phase of the controversy, and supply what we have no doubt is 2 in some parts of 
our country, a pressing want. Even the greatest absurdities, iterated and reit- 
erated in a tone of unblushing confidence, will gain some adherents. Besides, 
the old treatises on the subject are in a manner inaccessible to the general reader, 
and will produce a deeper impression, even if it be not more applicable, which 
in ordinary cases it wiil be, to the state of the times. The present volume we 
regard as not only suited to the times, but in itself a production of no trifling 
merit. It indicates great industry, and no little research on the part of the 
writer, and its statements appear, from such an examination as we have been 
able to give it, entitled to confidence. . . . There is an earnestness, good 
temper and thoroughness which mark the work, which we like, and we can 
very cordially commend it to the attention of all who feel an interest in the 
subject.' 

From the Southern Quarterly Review. 

4 This is one of the ablest works of theological controversy, that has appeared 
during the present century, and we are happy to be able to add that it is the pro- 
duction of a Charleston clergyman. . . . We say then, in the outset, that the 
Presbyterian church has, in our opinion, in the author of the work before us, a 
powerful champion, who wields a polished pen, and one who seems to be emi- 
nently fitted, by his learning, his talents, and his industry, to maintain manfully 
the cause he has espoused. We have read his book with deep interest, and with 
great respect for his abilitv, and the general candor and fairness of his argu- 
ments.' [April, 1S43 : pp 534 — 537. 

From the Magnolia, a Literary Magazine and Monthly Review. 

1 The Doctrine of Apostolical Succession is here examined in an elaborate 
course of Lectures, twenty-one in number, by the Rev. Thos. Smyth, Pastor of 
the Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston. It is not within our province to 
examine them. We can say nothing, therefore, of the question which Mr. 
Smyth discusses. No doubt he discusses it ably. He certainly discusses it ear- 



6 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



nestly. He is ingenious and forcible, and displays a wonderful deal of industry 
and research. Here now is an octavo of near six hundred pages, brimful of 
study, and crowded with authorities. We perceive that Mr. Smyth wins the 
plaudit ' well done,' from numerous high sources, advocating the same doctrine 
with himself. They seem to ihink that his argument has done ample justice to 
his subject; and we" may add, so far as we have been able to examine it, that it 
has been urged in a candid and Christian temper.' 

From , Attorney General in the State of . 

1 Your Lectures I read with the highest satisfaction, and take great pleasure in 
acknowledging the obligations which I think the friends of Christian truth, reli- 
gious liberty, and I will add, of the pure undented gospel, owe to you for them. 
Your vindication of the Church, by which I mean the humble followers of our 
Lord, by whatever name called, from the claims of usurped ecclesiastical domi- 
nation, seems to me to be complete; and whilst you have, in succession, 
destroyed and dissipated every ground of doubt on the subject, in the minds of 
the unprejudiced, your extensive and enlightened research and discrimination, 
have enabled you to furnish an armory, where every one may supply himself 
with weapons for defence against individual attack. Nor am I less gratified wilh 
the candid and charitable tone and temper with which your views are propounded, 
than with the overwhelming mass of argument and illustration by which they 
are demonstrated. Your lectures seem to me to have been written in a truly 
Christian spirit ; and if they have been cavilled at on that ground, it can only be 
because men always feel attacks upon their prejudices to be unkind.'' 

From the New England Puritan, 

* This large octavo, of five hundred and sixty-eight pages, is a highly seasona- 
ble offering to the Protestant Churches of our country, and displays an amount 
of learning, of research, of skill and power in argument, of fertility in illustration, 
of combined candor and earnestness of spirit, rarely to be met with in any volume 
either of home or foreign origin. We have not had it in hand long enough to 
master the whole of its contents — but long enough to be satisfied of its happy 
adaptation to the sad times on which we have fallen, and of the richness of the 
treasures it offers to the acceptance of the true friends of Christ. The volume 
before us, though perfectly calm and candid in its discussions, leaves this matter 
plain as sunlight. More formidable foes to Christ and his apostles are not to be 
found amid all the tribes of religious errorists, than those arrayed beneath the 
banners of Popery and High Churchism. It is to be hoped that our brethren in 
the ministry will avail themselves of the labors of Mr. Smyth, to become 
thoroughly acquainted with this imposing foi'm of error, and arm themselves 
with ' panoply divine' to meet it and confound it, ere it attains the preeminence 
to which it aspires, and which, unresisted, it will inevitably attain.' 

From the Boston Recorder. 

1 This is truly an elaborate work. Our attention has been but recently called, 
in a special manner, to its contents, but our highest expectations of the candor 
and ability of the discussion have been more than satisfied. The object of the 
author's animadversion is not episcopacy, as such; but the arrogant and exclu- 
sive claim of High Churchmen and Romanists to be the only true Church of 
Christ ; his only real ministers, an 1 the ' only sources of efficacious ordinances 
and covenanted salvation.' The volume is eminently appropriate to the times, 
and, if read with a sincere desire for the truth, must, we think, prove an imme- 
diate corrective of any tendencies towards the Church of England or of Rome.' 

From the Christian World, by the Rev. Mr. Stockton, of the Protestant 

Methodist Church. 

4 The Lectures which have led us to these remarks, are a valuable addition to 
religious literature, and more particularly, the polemical department of it. They 
number twenty-one, and fill a handsome volume of five hundred and fifty pages. 
The chief aim of the author has been to test the prelatical doctrine by Scripture, 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



7 



nistory, and facts — lo exhibit its popish, intolerant, unreasonable, and suicidal 
character, and to show that it has been condemned by the best authorities. The 
latter part of the work is devoted to a consideration of Schism , and to a discus- 
sion of the true doctrine of Apostolical Succession The plan covers the whole 
subject — the execution is well managed. It is bold, but temperate — fearless, 
but not reckless — a fine specimen of good tactics in a defensive war. As a text 
book it is worthy of high commendation, abounding as it does in copious extracts, 
and presenting the views of all our standard authors. It is a focal point where 
many rays have been gathered — we had almost said at the risk of good taste — 
a hive, where many bees had deposited honey. If it be not as'eloquent as 
Mason's Essay on this subject, or as cogent and imaginative as Milton's Traf^s 
on it, we have no hesitation in preferring it to either, for compass, variety, a d 
clear demonstration.' 

From the American Biblical Repository. 

* This well filled octavo volume has come into our hands. Its leading subjects, 
as indicated in the title-page, are of sufficient importance to demand a thorough 
discussion; and we agree with our author in the belief that the time has come 
when such a discussion is necessary for the proper vindication of the rights and 
duties of the great body of the Protestant ministry and churches, against the 
assumptions of a portion of their own number, who take common ground with 
Romanists in excluding from the pale of communion in the 'holy, catholic, and 
apostolic church,' ail who dissent from their doctrine of ' exclusive apostolic suc- 
cession.' These assumptions are not only found in many of the old and standard 
divines of the Church of England, but have been of late zealously put forth hi 
the Oxford 1 Tracts for the Times,' have been avowed by English and American 
bishops, and by a great number of the Episcopal clergy of both countries ; and 
the assurance with which they are urged in many recent publications, calls for a 
patient and thorough examination of "the arguments advanced in their support. 
Such is the work undertaken by our author. The topics of the twenty-one Lec- 
tures comprised in this volume, are as follows, etc. These subjects are discussed 
wiih great earnestness and strength ; and the ample and numerous authorities by 
which his statements and reasonings are confirmed, show that the author has 
spared no labor, and dispensed with no available aid, in his investigations. As 
far as we have examined them, they appear to us thorough and satisfactory, and 
we cordially commend the work to the diligent study of our readers.' 

From the Rev. Samuel H. Cox, D. D. Extract from a Letter. 

' Rev. and Dear Str : — Though personally unknown to you, yet have I been 
so pleased with your Lectures on ihe Apostolical Succession, that I thought it 
but fair to tell you of it. ... I believe you are doing a protestant and a christian 
work: and while I regret some incidental differences of another kind between 
us, I am happy to assure you of my God-speed, and of my prayers for a blessing 
on your labors.' 

From the Rev. Dr. Lams on. 

Dr. Lamson in his Lecture on the Uses of Ecclesias'ical History, ('Christian 
Examiner, Sept. 1842, p. ]2,) in alluding to the claims of prelacy, and the doc 
trine of Apostolical Succession, says : '"It has been found necessary to take the 
field, and already a goodly sized octavo, manifesting no little industry and 
research, has appeared, printed in this city, though written by a Presbyterian of 
the South, in refutation of these, as we are accustomed to consider, perfectly 
absurd and obsolete claims.' 

From the Protestant and Herald. 

After speaking of the author's Ecclesiastical Catechism, a writer in this paper 
says: ' He had before prepared us for such a treat, by favoring the Protestant 
Church with a profound, learned, and eloquent argument on ' the Apostolic Sue* 
cession,' utterly refuting the exclusive and inflated claims of all Hish Churchmen, 
or 1 china men,* as they have been appropriately styled in the Biblical Repertory 



s 



CRITICAL NOTICE 3. 



Of this production of hi*, I have the means of knowing, that the venerable cham- 
pion in the cause, has privately declared ' that Mr. Smyth has quoted books in the 
controversy, which he had never had the privilege of seeing, and which were 
even rare in Europe.' ' 

From the Honorable Mitchell King, of Charleston, S. O. 

* Rev. and Dear Sir : — You have done a lasting service to the Presbyterian 
Church, by the publication of your work on the Prelatical Doctrine of the Apos- 
tolical Succession. The question which you there discuss has assumed in our 
times a renewed importance, from the efforts recently made to claim for particu- 
lar bodies of Christians ait exclusive right to the benefits of that covenant of 
grace, which Christ came to make with all true believers. This question was, 
as you and I believe, long ago settled by the thorough investigations and conclu- 
sive arguments of men worthy, if mortal men can be worthy, of the great cause 
in which they were engaged; who were influenced solely by the love of truth, 
and followed that, wherever it might lead them, without regard to merely human 
authority; and many of whom sealed their testimony with their blood. These 
limes have passed away. But earnest endeavors have been lately made, to 
shake the confidence of many Christians in the principles of their fathers, and to 
overthrow their faith m that Church which we believe to be founded on the 
words of everlasting lite. Your work, therefore, I consider as most seasonable 
and valuable, as reviving and spreading the knowledge of the fundamental truths 
on which our Church rests. It contains a fuller review of the reasonings and 
authorities on this subject, than any other work with which I am acquainted, and 
will, I am persuaded, henceforth be an armory in which the defenders of Presby- 
terirrnism can find weapons of proof ready prepared for them. That you may go 
forward in the course which you have so honorably begun, and that the Great 
Head of the Church may follow your labors with his rich blessing, is the earnest 
prayer of, Rev'd and Dear Sir, yours very truly, M. KING. 

From the Rev. John Bachman, D. D., of the German Lutheran Church, 

Charleston, C. 

' My Dear Sir: — To my mind your Lectures on the Apostolical Succession 
covers the whole ground, and is, without exception, the most triumphant vindica- 
tion of our views on this subject, lhat I have ever read. I regard the work as 
the most valuable contribution that has ever been made to the Southern Church. 1 

The Prelatical Doctrine of the Apostolical Succession Examined, and the Protes- 
tant Ministry Defended against the Assumptions of Popery and High Churchism, 
in a series of Leciures. JBy Thomas Smyth. Pastor of the 2nd Presbyterian 
Church, Charleston, fcc. 

This is not a work to be di.-posed of in a mere critical notice. It deserves, as we 
propose in our next number to give it, a more ample cousrderation. 

The volume is one of the first fruits of the controversy in America. Mr. Smyth, 
with whom we became acquainted a few years ago, through the medium of his 
admirable " Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church," was roused to 
study the controversy by the hierarchical assumptions, the arrogant bigotry, the 
anathematizing intolerance, and the proselyting zeal, universally manifested by his 
Prelatic countrymen. Unestablished though the Prelatic sect in America be, re- 
publican as are all its members in profession, at ieast, the arrogance, intolerance, 
and pride, of the Angligan church are there displayed in as hyperbolical and bloated 
a form as even Laud himself ever put forth. Prelacy, in fact, account for it as you 
will, has demonstrated in every page of its history, that it is as great an enemy to 
charity, as destructive of brotherly love and peace, and as inconsistent with liberty 
of conscience or toleration, as Popery itself. Jealous of the attitude assumed by this 
sect, and zealous for the faith once delivered to the saints, Mr. Smyth was induced 
to examine the basis upon which such lofty pretensions are supposed to rest ; and 
the present volume is the first fruits of his labors. The work has been already 
most favorably received, not only among Presbyterians, but also anong all other 
Pretcstant denominations in America, and is decidedly the best m^rnuai of the Pre- 
latic controversy in its present phasis, we have had an opportunity of consulting. 



AN 



ECCLESIASTICAL CATECHISM 

OF THE 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 

For the use cf Bible Classes, Families, and Private Members. 

THIRD EDITION, MUCH IMPROVED. 

This work lias been submitted to the revision of the Rev. Samuel Miller, d. d. 
and many others^ and is now published , as approved by them, and with tJieir 
emendations. 



CHITICAId NOTICES. 

Overture adopted by the Synod of S. Carolina and Geo. at its session in 1841. 

That the publication of works intended to advocate the distinctive order and 
polity of our Church should be encouraged, and their circulation among our 
people rendered as general as possible ; and it having come to the knowledge of 
this Synod, that one of their number, the Rev. Thomas Smyth, of Charleston, has 
recently given to the Church, among other valuable publications, 'An Ecclesias- 
tical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church, for the use of Families, Bible 
Classes, and Private Members, 1 — and a series of Lectures on 'The Prelaticol 
Doctrine of Apostolical Succession Examined, and the Protestant Ministry 
Defended against the Asumptions of Popery and High Churchisra.' Therefore, 
Resolved, That the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia regard with pleasure 
and approbation these publications, as containing an able defence of the divine 
authority of the Protestant Ministry, and a full and satisfactory exposition of the 
order and government Of our Church ; and as demanded by the present state of 
She controversy on these subjects. And the Synod does, therefore, cordially 
recommend ihe said publications to all our Ministers. Elders, and private mem- 
bers, as works of high value, asid calculated to advance the intelligence of our 
Church, on our distinctive peculiarities and doctrines. 

From the Eiblical Repertory, for January, 1341. 

{ Mr. Smyth must be regarded as among the most efficient and active authors 
in the Presbyterian Church. His valuable work on the 'Apostolical Succession,' 
reviewed in a preceding part of this number, is a monument of his reading and 
industry, which has been extensively acknowledged. The ' Ecclesiastical Cat- 
echism ' before us, is another present to the Church with which Mr. Smyth is 
connected, which we think adapted to be universally esteemed, and highly useful. 
It is, as all such manuals ought to be, brief, comprehensive, simple, adapted to 
weak capacities, and yet sufficiently instructive to gratify the most intelligent 
minds. The Scriptural quotations to illustrate and establish the principles he 
lays down, are perhaps, in some cases, unnecessarily numerous, and in a few 
instances, of questionable application. But it is on the whole so well executed, 
and possesses so much solid merit, that we hope it may be extensively circulated 
and used.' 



8 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



Prom the Rev. Geo. Howe.D. D., Professor in the Theological Seminary of the 

Synod of South Carolina and G-eorgia. 

' The design and the execution are excellent. It contains a more complete 
explanation of the order and government of our Church, than I have ever before 
seen in so small a compass. 1 think it admirably adapted to the purposes for 
which it was designed, and could wish to see it in every Presbyterian family, 
and studied by all our young people, as an appendix to the doctrinal catechisms.' 

From The Presbyterian. 

* We have received a neat and well-printed little volume of one hundred and 
twenty-four pages, entitled 'An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian 
Church, for the use of Families, Bible Classes, and Private Members:' by Rev. 
Thomas Smyth, Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Charleston, S. C, 
into which the author has compressed a large amount of very valuable matter, 
explanatory and illustrative of Church order, and which we regard as particularly 
serviceable at the present time, as supplying a desideratum in the education of 
Presbyterian youth. Although the author modestly remarks, that his Catechism 
is an attempt rather than an actual accomplishment of all that he believes to be 
demanded by the necessities of the Church, yet from the attention we have been 
able to bestow on it, we should regard the execution of the attempt as highly 
creditable, and we believe the book to be deserving of an immediate adoption in 
the instruction of the youth of our Church.' 

Fr-om the Christian Intelligencer, of the Reformed Dutch Church, If. Y. 

1 The members of the Presbyterian Church should possess a full and satisfactory 
acquaintance with the principles of Presbyterian government, polity, and worship. 
This little volume is exceedingly well adapted to aid in gaining this acquaint- 
ance, and is suited for general and popular use. While industrious efforts are 
employed by other denominations in opposition to these principles, it is highly 
important and desirable that a popular manual, in elucidation and vindication of 
their creeds, as is provided in this volume, should be circulated. The following 
are the subjects of the chapters, each of which contains several sections, or sub- 
divisions ■ — I. The Church. IT. Governments of the Church. III. Officers of 
the Church. IV. Courts of the Church. V. Power of the Church. VI. Fellow- 
ship of the Church. VII. Relation of the Presbyterian Church toother denomi- 
nations. The catechetical form of the work, and the copious scripture-references 
and authorities, adapt it to the use of instruction. Such a volume as this was 
needed ; and we feel indebted to Mr. Smyth for the preparation of it, as we deem 
it, in matter and manner, meeting the desideratum required.' 

From the Charleston Observer. 

'Of the first edition of this work we spoke in terms of commendation. But 
this is a very considerable improvement, not only in the style in which it is gotten 
up — for it is very neatly printed and bound — but in the arrangement and matter. 
It supplies a place that is needed, and yet it is issued merely as an attempt to 
furnish the Church with a brief compend of her worship and polity. As a 
denomination, we have been remiss in the duty of letting the principles and polity 
of our Church be generally known. Many of our own members need informa- 
tion on this subject, that they may be established in the truth and order of the 
house of God. And information is needed also by others, to correct the erroneous 
impressions respecting it. which have been designedly or undesignedly made upon 
their minds. The work deserves general circulation.' 

From the ITew York Observer. 

1 The preparation of this little work was the result of a suggestion by Rev. Dr. 
Miller, of Princeton ; and in it the author has presented the peculiar features of 
the form of Government in the Presbyterian Church, in questions and answers, 
and in simple language, that the sentiments inculcated may be readily learned 
and remembered by the young.' 



CRITICAL NOTICES 



3 



From the Protestant and Herald. 

' Mr. Editor: — During the past winter, the Female Bible Class of my pas- 
toral chaise, have memorized k The Ecclesiastical Catechism^ prepared by the Rev. 
Thomas Smyth, of Charleston, South Carolina. I make this statement in your 
columns, in order to excite and secure the attention of your readers to the utility 
and value of that liuie volume. The ladies have manifested an unusual degree 
of delight and enthusiasm in their recitations. The result has been, if I mistake 
not, 1 a full and comprehensive acquaintance with the principles of the worship 
Mid polity of our Church.' Such was the hope of its worthy and able author in 
the preparation of his book. The proof-texts are generally printed at length in 
the Catechism. Without- attempting an analysis of this book, allow me to urge 
Pastors, and Ruling Elders, and Deacons, and Sunday School Teachers in our 
Churches, to procure this interesting and attractive and cheap compend of Church 
order, and indoctrinate their families and pupils into these cherished principles of 
our denomination. Are we not, as a body of people, quite remiss in this high 
duty? Let the standard-bearers in our host, bestir themselves as they ought, to 
circulate this work, as a Presbyterian Sabbath School book, and make it, if you 
please, what it deserves to be, next to our Larger and Shorter Catechism — 
a Presbyterian classic in all our family instructions.' 

From the Magnolia, a Literary Magazine and Monthly Review. 

* Tills little volume was meant for, and is acknowledged to have supplied a 
want, among the members of the Presbyterian Church. It is a copious compila- 
tion, containing a large amount of religious information, and we take for granted, 
that, among the class of Christians for whose use it was prepared, it is far 
superior to any thing of the sort which had ever been offered the in before. It 
shows industry, reading, and analysis.' 

From the American Biblical Repository. 

* This little volume is issued by the same publishers as the preceding work, by 
the same author. It is a well-digested system of questions and answers on the 
Church, its government, — its officers, — its courts, — its powers, — its fellowship, 
and the relation of the Presbyterian Church to other denominations. It is a use- 
ful manual for Presbyterians, and may be instructive to others.' 

An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church, for the use of Families 
and private members. By Thomas Smyth, Pastor of the 2nd Presbyteiian 
Church, Charleston, 1841. 

This is one of the fullest ecclesiastical catechisms we have seen, forming a 
small volume of 124 pages, and traversing the whole subject of w hich it treats very 
minutely, yet with conciseness and brevity. These small woiks are most nec?>s 
saiy in "the present day: and the augmenting demand for them shows that the 
mind of the nation is" rapidly turning towards the investigation of those points 
which have been so sadly neglected, and to the neglect of which we must attribute 
much of the ignorance that has of late years been displayed in matters ecclesiasti- 
cal, during the mighty controversy which the disruption of last May brought to so 
magnificent, yet so calamitous a close. This catechism has not, we believe, been 
republished in this country, but ere long we trust it will come into extensive ch- 
elation, both to instruct the faithful adherents of the Free Church of Scotland, 
and to counteract the Erastian and Prelatic leaven which is working so fatalty in 
many quarters. 



ALSO, BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 

JUST PUBLISHED, 

PRESBYTERY AND MOT PRELACY 
The Scriptural and Primitive Polity, 

PROVED PROM THE TESTIMONIES OF SCRIPTURE ; THE FATHERS 
THE SCHOOLMEN j THE REFORMERS j AND THE ENGLISH AND 
ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 

ALSO, THE ANTIQUITY OF PRESBYTERY; 

INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT CULDEES, AND OF ST 
PATRICK. 

ECCLESIASTICAL REPUBLICANISM; 

OR THE REPUBLICANISM, LIBERALITY, AND CATHOLICITY OF 

PRESBYTERY, 

AMID ^©IPHia'S'o ' 

PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION, 

AN ABRIDGED EDITION OF THE AUTHOR'S WORK ON 
THE TRELATICAL DOCTRINE 

OF THE 

APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION* 

PREPARED, AT HIS REQUEST, BY THE 

Kev. Joseph Tracy, 



AUTHOR OF THE GREAT AWAKENING, HISTORY OP THE A. B. 0. FOR 

FOREIGN MISSIONS, &C. 



LATELY PUBLISHED, BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
PRESBYTERY AND NOT PRELACY 
THE SCRIPTURAL AND FREMITI' POLITY; 

F507ID FBOM THE 
Testimonies of Scripture ; the Fathers ; the Schoolmen ; the Reformers ; 
and Vie English and Oriental Churches. 

ALSO, 

THE ANTIQUITY OF PRESBYTERY; 

A5 ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT CULDEE5, AND OF ST. PATRICK. 

ALSO 

ECCLESIASTICAL REPUBLICANISM ; 

REPUBLICANISM. LIBERALITY, AND CATHOLICITY 

PRESBYTERY, 

IX CONTRAST WITH PRELACY AND POPERY. 

CBHICAL S0TICI3, WBICH EAVI ALBIABY APPEARED I 

From the Rev. Samuel Miller, D. D., Professor in the Theological 
Seminary, Princeton. 

I have read the volume entitled "Presbytery and not Prelacv 
,he Scriptural and Primitive Polity," &c, with unfeigned and 
high pleasure ; and although not able to acquiesce in every opin- 
ion and statement which it contains, yet I consider it y in its great 
outline, as clear, learned, powerful, and altogether conclusive in 
the refutation of Prelacy and establishment of Presbyterianism. 
It takes a more comprehensive and complete view of the whole 
controversy than is to be found in any other single volume with 
which I am acquainted, and appears to me to be eminently adapted 
to be useful, and well worthy of the thanks and patronage of every 
member of the Presbyterian Church. It is eminently a learned 
work. The author has not suffered himself to write, as too many 
of the ignorant and arrogant advocates of the sect which he op- 
poses have done, without an acquaintance with more than his own 

a 



2 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



side of the question. I doubt whether there is another individual 
in the United States who has read so extensively on this subject, 
and especially who has made himself so familiar with the works 
of the highest and best authorities of the Episcopal denomination. 
Mr. Smyth is undoubtedly entitled to the character , of an able 
advocate and benefactor of the Presbyterian Church. With regard 
to every important Episcopal claim, he has not only shown that it 
has no support whatever in the word of God, but that it has been 
given up as untenable by the most learned and venerable authori- 
ties among Prelatists themselves. 

With regard to the second work, of smaller size, by the same 
author, entitled "Ecclesiastical Republicanism," it merits the 
same general character with its larger companion. It is learned 
and ample in its compass, forcible in its reasoning, and perfectly 
unanswerable in its statements and conclusions. 

These works cannot fail of making a deep impression on all 
minds capable of estimating the weight of either authority or argu- 
ment. Every Presbyterian in the United States ought to feel 
himself a debtor to the author. 



From the Biblical Repertory. 

We have here two new volumes by the indefatigable author of 
the Lectures on Apostolical Succession. The more elaborate and 
important of the two is constructed on the same general method 
with its predecessor, but with the advantage of appearing in a 
more digested, systematic form. In either case, the circumstance 
which first strikes the reader is the number and variety of authors 
quoted. None but a well stocked and selected library could fur- 
nish the material of such a volume. It is in this richness of ma- 
terial that the value of the work chiefly consists. 

If, in addition to the summary view which we have given of 
the author's plan, and the more general remarks preceding it, we 
thought it necessary to characterize this treatise as a whole, we 
should call attention, in the first place, to the comprehensiveness 
of its design. We are not aware of any interesting or important 
question, involved in the controversy, which is left untouched. 
The extent and variety of the author's reading, upon this and 
kindred subjects, have made him acquainted with the various as- 
pects under which the whole dispute has been presented, and with 
the precise points which are now at issue. If he has not always 
made them as distinctly visible to the reader as they must be to 
himself, it has arisen from the difficulty, which we have already 
pointed out, of executing with uniform success a somewhat pecu- 
liar and complicated plan. We are free to say, however, that no 
one can attentively peruse this volume without having fully, and 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



3 



for the most part clearly, brought before his mind the various 
theories of church government, and the grounds on which they 
are supported, often in the very words of their respective advo- 
cates. This latter circumstance, while it detracts, as we have 
seen, from the unity and absolute consistency of the author's own 
argument, adds much to the historical and literary interest of his 
performance. Its merit, in this respect, is greater than any but 
an attentive reader would imagine. We are constantly surprised 
at the industry with which all accessible authorities have been 
resorted to, and so cited as to furnish the means of more particular 
examination on the reader's part. In this the author has done 
wisely, not so much for mere immediate success as for permanent 
utility and reputation. This volume, like its predecessor, will be 
apt to alarm American readers by its bulk and show of erudition 
Those who have been nourished on the modern diet of newspa- 
pers and cheap literature have little taste or stomach for more solid 
aliment. But even some who are at first repelled by the magni- 
tude and copious contents of the volume, may hereafter resort to 
it as a guide to the original sources of information, and thus be led 
to read the whole. In this connexion, we must not omit to men- 
tion a valuable catalogue or index of the most important works 
upon the subject, which the author has prepared, and appended to 
the volume. Most of these works are in his own possession, and 
have been employed in the construction of this treatise. 

Another creditable feature of the work, considered as an original 
argument, is its freedom from extremes, and an enlarged view of 
the subject of church government, which could never have resulted 
from mere solitary speculation, but which has obviously flowed, 
in this case, from an extensive comparison of opinions with the 
grounds on which they rest. By such a process one becomes 
aware that what might otherwise have appeared to be a happy 
discovery is nothing more than an exploded error, and that much 
is to be said, and has been said, in favor of opinions, which dog- 
matical ignorance would at once set down as obsolete absurdities. 
We think it the more necessary to make this general commenda- 
tory statement, because we differ from the author as to some points, 
both of his reasoning and interpretation, only one or two of which 
could be even hinted at on this occasion. 

These are particulars in which our native publications are too 
commonly defective, and which we hope will contribute to the 
circulation of the one before* us, abroad as well as at home. On 
the whole, we look upon the volume as another pleasing and credit- 
able proof of what may be accomplished by untiring industry} not 
only in retirement or in academical stations, but amidst the labors 
of an important pastoral charge. That such a situation is no ex* 
cuse for idleness, is clear from such examples as those of Mr. 
Smyth and Mr, Barnes. 



4 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



From the American Biblical Repository. 

Ecclesiastical Republicanism, &c. — Mr. Smyth is already 
well known and duly appreciated as the author of several volumes 
on ecclesiastical polity, Apostolical succession, Presbytery and not 
Prelacy Scriptural, Ecclesiastical Catechism, &c. The present 
volume is designed to show that Presbytery is preeminently repub- 
lican, that it is liberal and catholic, and admirably adapted, in its 
principles, both dogmatical and ecclesiastical, to our system of 
civil polity. 

We have always wondered how those who hold to episcopacy 
could contend for its republicanism and adaptedness to our system 
of representative government. It seems to us too manifest to be 
denied, without a blush, that the principles of presbytery, in its 
extended sense, are precisely those which lie at the basis of our 
political structure, that they are essentially liberal and republican, 
and equalled by no others in their accordance with the free spirit 
of our popular government. 

The author has done his part well, and his work merits the 
commendation of all non-episcopal, and the attention of all epis- 
copal communions. At the present crisis, it is especially demand- 
ed, when so lofty claims are set up by those who deem themselves 
the only conservators of the rights and privileges of God's house. 
May the writer be rewarded for his work of faith ! 

Presbytery and not Prelacy, &c. — It is not in our power 
now to devote as much space to a notice of this work as its merits 
certainly would justify. It is well worthy of an extended review, 
and we should be pleased to have one offered for our pages, as 
we fear our own pressing and multiplied engagements will not 
allow us the time necessary for its preparation. 

Mr Smyth has taken hold of a great subject with great zeal, 
and stands up manfully in defence of non-episcopal polity. The 
day seems to have come when we must again buckle on the armor 
for a conflict with the papacy and sub-papacy, or Newmania ! 
We must show the people that we stand on solid ground, when 
we maintain the parity of the ministry, and undertake to substan- 
tiate our claims to as high and holy a succession, and-as rightful 
and regular an administration of the ordinances of Christ's house, 
as ever belonged to Pope or Prelate. 

But to the volume. Mr. Smyth has here furnished an armory, 
where the presbyter can be readily supplied with a panoply, all- 
sufficient for his defence against the hottest onsets of his antago- 
nists, and indeed one in which he can go forth with confidence 
of victory. 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



5 



From the Southern Quarterly Review, for October, 1843. 

It was with much pleasure that we noticed, the other dav, that 
Princeton College, N. J., had conferred on the learned and" pious 
author of this work, the honorary degree of Doctor in Divinity. 
No Southern Divine is more worthy of the high distinction, and 
the Faculty of that time-honored institution have exhibited a 
pioper discrimination, in this instance, which will meet with the 
approval, not only of the friends of that gentleman, but of the 
whole body of scholars throughout the South. Dr. Smyth has, 
after many years of laborious research, at length completed his 
great work on "Presbytery and Prelacy," which is a monument 
at once of his learning, his industry, and his impartiality. It is 
an argument in behalf of Christian liberty, in which he advocates, 
in a style of great force and elegance, and with profound learning, 
"principles which are common to Congregationalists, Presbyte- 
rians, Reformed Dutch, Lutherans, Baptists, and Methodists." 

We have just received these works, and, amidst a multiplicity 
of engagements, have not yet had time to give them more than a 
cursory perusal. Our impressions are, upon the whole, most 
favorable. We intend to place them in the hands of an eminent 
Presbyterian theologian, for the purpose of review, — a respect 
which is due to their high literary character. 



From the Xcic-York Tribune. 

Presbytery and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primitive 
Polity. By Thomas Smyth. New-York : Leavitt, Trow 
Co., 194 Broadway. 

This book professedly enters into the controversy between dif- 
ferent religious sects ; and it is obviously improper for us to ex- 
press an opinion as to the conclusiveness of the argument which 
the author has made. But we readily bear full testimony to the 
learning, the ability, industry, and enthusiasm which the author 
has brought into the very important discussion with which the 
book is occupied. He professes to place himself upon ground held 
in common by all denominations of Christians except Prelatists 
and Papists, and comes forward as a representative of them all, 
against Episcopacv in any form. He regards the present day as a 
most important crisis in this great discussion. The efforts of the 
Roman and Episcopal Churches to establish their exclusive right 
to be considered the true and primitive Church, which are perhaps 
more rigorous and general than they have been heretofore, render 
necessarv,in his opinion, more labored fundamental arguments in 
defence 'of non-episcopal tenets. He has accordingly sought to 
furnish in this work an armory whence proofs and authorities may 



6 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



be drawn in the controversy. In the first book he aims to «now 
from the Holy Scriptures that Presbytery is the Apostolical order 
of the Church of Christ ; he does this by referring to the condition 
of the Church at the time of and immediately after the Saviour's 
ministry, by appealing to the Apostolic age of the Church, and by 
showing that presbyteries are clothed by Apostolic authority with 
the functions of the ministry and by divine right with ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction aud the power of ordination. In the second book he 
attempts to show the same points by an appeal to the Fattier*., 
and the third book treats of the antiquity of Presbytery, with an 
exhibition of the presbyterianism of the ancient Culdees of Ireland 
and Scotland, and also of St. Patrick. From this statement the 
theological reader will readily infer the extent and nature of the 
argument, which is conducted by the author with signal ability 
and learning. The work cannot fail to be highly useful, and must 
be greatly prized by those who feel a decided interest in these 
discussions. Mr. Smyth is a well-known divine of South Caroli- 
na, and is the author of several other religious works of merit and 
popularity. The present work is published in a very neat form, 
on clear type, in an octavo volume of nearly 600 pages. 

* # * # * * * * * * * 

Ecclesiastical Republicanism. By Thomas Smyth. New- 
York : Leavitt, Trow & Co., 194 Broadway. 

The purpose of this work is to disprove the determined claim, 
which the Prelatic and Romish Churches are said to prefer, to a 
greater conformity in spirit and in order to our republican institu- 
tions than any other denominations. The author is well known 
to the religious public as the author of several works upon subjects 
nearly allied to this; and his present work is the result of certain 
studies into which he was compelled quite largely to enter in the 
progress of preparing those already issued. The subject is evi- 
dently one of great and growing importance; and those who take 
an interest in it will find it here discussed with great learning and 
ability. The argument is condensed, and yet comprehensive ; 
and we commend the work to the attention of those for whom it 
was specially written. 



From the Neio- York Evangelist. 

We expected to find the evidences of learning, research, can- 
dor, and signal ability in this volume, and have not been disap- 
pointed. The author is a clear and cogent reasoner, an honest 
lover of the truth, and possesses a kind Christian spirit, and rare 
qualifications for the work to which he has addressed himself. 
The claims of Prelacy are examined in all their aspects, and aie 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



7 



fraokly met and fairly disposed of. We hardly know how any 
question, not within the reach of a mathematical demonstration, 
could be more effectually settled. Vv'e cannot coincide with all 
the views taken, but the main citadel he has so completely carried, 

that we cannot withhold our voice from the chorus of victory. 

* * * * * * * * * * * 

Ecclesiastical Republicanism; or, the Republicanism, Liber- 
ality, and Catholicity of Presbytery, in contrast with Prelacy 
and Popery. By Rev. Thomas Smyth. 12mo. 

The author's design has been to show the despotic tendencies 
of Popery and Prelacy, by contrasting with them the free, liberal, 
and catholic influence of non-Episcopal forms of church govern- 
ment. The term 44 Presbytery*' he applies in a generic sense, to 
all denominations who reject prelatical bishops. He maintains 
its republican tendency in its ecclesiastical and doctrinal charac- 
ter, and presents an array of facts and arguments which show the 
danger of the sects he opposes. The work is written in a free and 
animated style, well adapted for popular effect. It is very timely, 
and should find many readers. 



From the J\*eic- York Observer. 

Ecclesiastical Republicanism : or the Republicanism, Liberal- 
ity, and Catholicity of Presbytery, in contrast with Prelacy and 
Popery. By Thomas Smyth, Author of Lectures on the Apos- 
tolical Succession, &c. 

An eloquent and able treatise on a delicate subject, and unless 
we mistake the temper of the times, the book will attract some 
attention and provoke discussion. Particularly will it be an offen- 
sive doctrine to many that Presbyterianism is more congenial to 
our free institutions than other forms of church government; but 
this point our author defends valiantly by history and argument. 

Mr. Smyth is one of the most voluminous writers of the day. 
But his books are not merely volumes. They are the result of 
deep study and minute investigation, and as such are worthy of 

being read by intelligent men. 

% * * * * * * * * * * * 

44 Presbytery and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primitive 
Polity," Sec. 

The author of this handsome octavo of 550 pages, is Rev. 
Thomas Smyth, of Charleston, S. C, whose former works have 
introduced him to the favorable notice of the public as an expert 
controversialist, a diligent student, and a man of extensive research 
and considerable vigor of mind. In the book before us he has 
with labor, which we do not envy him, collected a vast array ot 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



testimony from Scripture, the fathers, the schoolmen, the reform* 
ers, and the English and Oriental churches, to show the antiquity 
of Presbytery, and to establish the fundamental doctrine of his 
work, that Presbytery is the Apostolic and Scriptural form of 
church government. 

At this time very many clergymen and laymen are turning their 
attention anew and with zeal to the investigation of this subject; 
and to all such, whether Episcopalians or Presbyterians, we com- 
mend this volume, as a valuable digest of the evidence in favor of 
the Presbyterial side of the question. Clergymen who are writing 
on the subject will here find reference to numerous authors, and 
will be spared the labor of much investigation by consulting Mr. 
Smyth's armory. It may be found at the principal bookstores in 
the chief cities of the United States. 



From the Christian Observer. 

This handsome volume is an octavo in size, containing about 
570 pages, printed on fine paper and in excellent style. It is 
divided into three books, which are also subdivided into chapters. 

Such, briefly, is the ground occupied by this volume. We have 
no personal acquaintance with the writer — but we regard his work 
as important and valuable, and well adapted to promote the inte- 
rests of truth. The great subject, which he has ably discussed, is 
assuming new importance in the estimation of the public. The 
claims of Prelacy, and the ominous movements in the Episcopal 
Church, are calling attention to it. Many minds are awake to 
the tendencies of Prelacy, watching its developments as affecting 
the purity of Christian doctrine, the spirituality of the Church, and 
the rights of Christian men. Many are seeking information and 
truth on this subject. To such, this work will be truly accepta- 
ble. Its numerous extracts from the works of distinguished 
writers of every period in the history of the Church, will render 
it highly valuable to ministers, to students, and to the class of 
general readers to which we have just referred. 

Of the work on Ecclesiastical Republicanism, this paper says : — 

The character of this work is indicated by its title. The sub- 
jects ably discussed in it are important and worthy of the attention 
of American citizens, &c. 



From the Ncio England Puritan, 

We have read this book with much satisfaction. It is the fruh 
of extensive research. The author has had access to abundam 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



9 



materials, and has well improved his advantage. He is a san- 
guine ex animo and jure divino Presbyterian ; and his predilec- 
tions have led him into some errors. He finds Presbyterianism 
where we find Congregationalism. Indeed, we can hardly quar- 
rel with him for this; since his definition of Presbyterianism is 
so broad, as to embrace such men as Dr. Owen. Let us have 
Presbyterianism after Dr. Owen's stamp, and we concede that the 
Scriptures and the Primitive Church favor it. 

With the exception above named, the argument of the book is 
powerful and conclusive. It is not only a valuable offering to the 
Presbyterian Church, but it will be read with profit by all denomi- 
nations; and we hope it will have an extensive circulation. 



From the Christian Watchman. 

The plan and design of the author are briefly indicated by the 
title-page. He has dedicated his work to the Presbyterian, Con- 
gregational, Reformed Dutch, German Lutheran, Methodist, and 
Baptist denominations, and declares in his preface that the aim of 
the work is catholic and not sectarian. 

The subject embraced in this treatise, describes the great battle- 
field on which are to meet the friends and the opposers of evan- 
gelical piety All mankind must have a religion. Enlightened 
nations cannot tolerate idolatry, it is too absurd. It matters little 
what the form is, if it have not the elements of evangelical piety. 
The gospel plan is simple. It is sustained and carried forward 
by the power of the Holy Ghost. If you set aside this plan, you 
must have pomp and ceremony, and the natural tendency is to a 
priesthood. 

The work of Mr. Smyth is elaborate. He seems to have sur- 
veyed the whole ground, and has been at great expense in col- 
lecting and digesting whatever has been written upon the subject. 
With the peculiar views of the author on the subject of Presby- 
terianism as opposed to Congregationalism, we have no sympathy, 
but in the main question we concur with him. 

The work is divided into three books, &c. 



From the Presbyterian (Pittsburgh) Advocate. 

We have also received by the kindness of the author, Rev. 
Thomas Smyth, of Charleston, S. C , his recent elaborate work, 
entitled — " Presbytery and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primi 
live Polity" of the Christian Church. This book consists of 
twenty-four chapters, and is a learned and elaborate discussion of 



10 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



the important topics brought under review in the controversy on 
Church Government with Papists and Prelatists. The design of 
the writer, as he informs us, was to condense the substance of the 
innumerable treatises which have been written on the subject, and 
to arrange their various topics in a more complete and compre- 
hensive order, so as to present them in as perfect, clear, and satis- 
factory a manner as the limits of a single volume would permit. 
That Mr. Smyth has succeeded in his design, is testified by many 
competent witnesses, such as the Biblical Repertory, and others 
of the same high standing. After years of laborious research and 
comparison of the views of a large number of the ablest writers 
upon the subject, he has given us the result in this handsome 
octavo of 560 pages. It is very neatly got up, and printed upon 
fine paper ; and in connection with an equally elaborate and 
applauded work, on the Apostolical Succession, and a third on 
Ecclesiastical Republicanism, all issued within a few years, forms 
a very creditable testimony to the genius and industry of the 
author. These works may be had at Carter's? Market-street. 

By a private note from the same author, we are gratified to learn 
that the third edition of his "Ecclesiastical Catechism," will be 
immediately issued from the press. This manual of instruction, 
designed to explain in familiar question and answer, the Presby- 
terian form of Church Government, has also received high com- 
mendation from various most respectable sources. 



From the North American. 

Presbytery and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primitive 
Polity, proved from the testimony of Scripture, the Fathers, the 
Schoolmen, the Reformers, and the English and Oriental 
Churches. Also, the Antiquity of Presbytery, including an 
account of the ancient Culdees and of St. Patrick. By Thomas 
Smyth, author of Lectures on the Apostolic Succession, &c. 

This is an octavo volume, beautifully printed, and containing 
600 pages. It is for sale by W. S. Martien, S. E. corner of Seventh 
and George streets. As the work of a most able and learned 
writer, it will doubtless be extensively read among all classes of 
Protestants whose faith and discipline are adverse to Episcopal 
government. More than this it is not the part of our press to say. 



From the JY. Y. Journal of Cmmerce. 

Smyth on Presbytery and Prelacy. — The title-page of this 
elaborate work indicates the object and design of the author. It 
is as follows : — 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



11 



Presbytery and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primitive Polity, 
proved from the testimonies of Scripture, the Fathers, the 
Schoolmen, the Reformers, and the English and Oriental 
Churches. Also, the Antiquity of Presbytery, including an 
account of the Ancient Culdees, and of St. Patrick. By Thomas 
Smyth, author of Lectures on the Apostolical Succession, &c. 

The author declares the aim of the work to be catholic, and not 
sectarian. He has dedicated it to the Presbyterian, Congrega- 
tional, Reformed Dutch, German Lutheran, Methodist, and Bap- 
tist denominations, whose common principles of ecclesiastical 
order, in contrast with those of Prelacy and Popery, it is mainly 
designed to advocate. 

Here, in the compass of an octavo volume of 540 pages, Mr. 
Smyth has condensed the substance of all that is valuable in the 
innumerable treatises that have been published on this great con- 
troversy. In the collection of these works in London and on the 
Continent of Europe, great expense was incurred ; and in perusing, 
collating, and digesting them, the labor of years has been applied. 
The lucid arrangement adopted by the author tends much to en- 
hance the interest of the various topics so ably and satisfactorily 
discussed. The work is divided into three Books, each of which 
is subdivided into several chapters. Book I. is designed to show 
that Presbytery, (under which term the author includes those 
generic principles common to all the non-Episcopal Christian 
denominations,) is the Scriptural and Apostolic order of the Church 
of Christ. In Book II. the claims of Presbytery to the true Apos- 
tolic or ministerial succession are sustained by an appeal to the 
Fathers, the Schoolmen, the Reformers, and to the Romish, Angli- 
can, and other Churches. Book III. treats of the antiquity of 
Presbytery ; and describes the Presbyterianism of the ancient Cul- 
dees of Ireland and Scotland, and also of St. Patrick. 

*********** 

Smyth on Ecclesiastical Republicanism. — The necessity 
of compressing the preceding work within the briefest compass, 
compelled the author to leave out certain chapters originally de- 
signed to be embodied in it. Part of these related to the republi- 
canism, liberality, and catholicity of Presbytery, in contrast with 
Prelacy and Popery. These have been published in a duodecimo 
volume of 300 pages and upwards, bearing the title prefixed to 
this paragraph. The author successfully exposes the futility of 
the arguments commonly advanced in favor of the claim preferred 
by the Prelatic and Romish Churches, to an exclusive catholicity, 
and to a greater liberality than other denominations. In contrast- 
ing the different ecclesiastical systems, he shows triumphantly the 

superior adaptation of Presbytery to the system of our republican 
*********** 



12 



government — : 
institutions. 



CRITICAL N0TICE8. 
its greater conformity, in spirit and in order, to our 



From the Presbyterian. 

Not long since we had the pleasure of commending to the notice 
of our readers an octavo volume on the Apostolical Succession, 
from the author whose fertile pen has now produced the two 
above named works. As our readers mav perceive, these volumes 
bear upon the same great subject, and are the results of much 
study, and very extensive reading. * * * * As in his " Apostoli- 
cal Succession," so in these volumes, Mr. Smyth has investigated 
his subject thoroughly, and constructed a full and conclusive argu- 
ment in favor of Presby terianism. In the former work, the claims 
of Presbytery as the true Apostolical order of the Church of Christ, 
are sustained in an argument of much force and great variety. 

The second work, on " Ecclesiastical Republicanism," is one 
peculiarly suited to the times. The author very successfully 
proves that Presbytery is republican in its doctrinal and ecclesi- 
astical systems. He investigates its structure, and from every 
part of it deduces this character of it, and not only so, but proves 
that in comparison with other forms of Church polity, it is pre- 
eminently so. It indeed constitutes the best defence of Presbyte- 
rianism against the current slanders of the day, with which we 
have met, and while we hope the former work will find an hon 
orable place in the library at least of every Presbyterian clergy- 
man, this we should hope will be found in every Presbyterian 
family as well adapted to popular reading. Hoping that these 
books will be reviewed in our Monthlies and Quarterlies, we con- 
clude our short notice of them with thanks to the author for his 
indefatigable labor in these particular departments, to which the 
controversies of the day have given unusual prominence. Prelacy 
with its arrogant pretensions will and must be defeated by the re 
sistance which it is now arousing. 



From the Charleston Courier, 

Two very able polemic works, the one entitled " Presbytery 
and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primitive Polity," and the 
other, "Ecclesiastical Republicanism," from the pen of the Rev. 
Thomas Smyth, have been received and are for sale at the dif- 
ferent bookstores in this city. The author in the composition 
of these works has shown himself an able controversialist, reason- 
ing with clearness and cogency, and exhibiting great learning and 



CRITICAL NUTlCfcd. 



research. These volumes certainly place him high as a writer, 
and entitle him to rank among the foremost as a champion of his 
Church. Our neutrality on matters of religious controversy pre- 
cludes us from an examination of the subjects discussed; and we 
therefore simply refer our readers to the following notices of these 
works, in other papers, to show the estimation in which they are 
held. 



From a Writer in the Charleston Courier. 

The Rev. Mr. Smyth's promised Treatise on Presbytery and 
Prelacy, has at last appeared, and will be found to sustain, in 
every way, his high reputation as a polemic and a controversial 
writer. In fact, he has proved himself absolute master of his 
subject, and fully competent to its discussion throughout the mi- 
nutest details. 

In the present work he assumes, however, a new position, and 
deserting his former posture of defence, assails his opponents with 
singular vigor and dexterity. There are, of course, two sides to 
every question ; but he has fortified his views with such abun- 
dance of quotation from authority, such fertility of illustration, and 
such ingenuity of reasoning, that we shall wait with some impa- 
tience of curiosity to see what grounds of reply have been left to 
his antagonists. 

Whatever else may result from these disputes, one thing is cer- 
tain ; that no theological library can be considered as properly 
furnished, in regard to this topic, which shall not contain these 
well-written and. highly interesting volumes. 



From the Rambler, by John B. Irving, M. D. ( Charleston, S. C.) 

Smyth's works on Presbytery and Prelacy and Ecclesiastical 
Republicanism, from the press of Crocker & Brewster, Boston, 
are before us. 

The rule we have laid down for ourself in the conduct of the 
Rambler, forbids our entering into the discussion of any subject 
connected either with politics or religion ; but we are bound in 
justice to Southern Literature, to notice in the most favorable 
manner the works before us, evidencing as they do the research 
and fine literary attainments of the author. These publications, 
like many others, should be attentively read by all seeking the 
truth — " either to make or break a faith." For our own part we 
are free to confess that we have no prejudices, and cheerfully read 
any work put into our hands on doctrinal points, happy to be set 
right whenever it is satisf ictorily proved to us, that we have been 



14 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



in error. Of all prejudices on earth, the most fatal to the spread 
*>f truth, to peace and good will among men, is religious prejudice ! 



From the Southern Christian Advocate. 

This elaborate Treatise, from the pen of our accomplished fel- 
low-townsman, the Rev. Mr. Smyth, is dedicated to the Presby- 
terian, Congregational, Reformed Dutch, German Lutheran, Me- 
thodist, and Baptist denominations, whose common principles of 
ecclesiastical order, in contrast with those of Prelacy and Papacy, 
it is mainly designed to advocate. The work is divided into three 
Books : the first, showing that Presbytery is the Scriptural and 
Apostolical order of the Church of Christ : the second, exhibiting 
the claims of Presbytery to the true Apostolical or Ministerial 
Succession, by an appeal to the Fathers, the Schoolmen, the Re- 
formers, and to the Romish, Anglican, and other Churches : the 
third, presenting the antiquity of Presbytery, with a detailed his- 
toric account of the ancient Culdees of Ireland and Scotland. 
The whole forms a contribution to sacred letters, for which the 
country in general, the South in particular, is laid under special 
obligations to the author. The subject discussed, important at 
any time, is vitally so at the present day. Upon it hinges a ten 
years' controversy, in which an unprecedented amount of learn- 
ing and vigor has been expended, and around which, all that is 
vital in Christianity, and hopeful for the redeemed race of man- 
kind, is gathered. 

Although we may not go the whole way with the author, in 
the minuter details of his subject, we agree with him in the lead- 
ing principles he advocates, and thank him for the noble vindica- 
tion which this publication, in connection with his work on Apos. 
tolical Succession, asserts against the growing intolerance of the 
times. 

The work is beautifully printed, and for sale at the Methodist 
Southern Book-room, 240 King-street. 

Ecclesiastical Republicanism. — A Treatise under this title 
has recently been given to the world by the Rev. Dr. Smyth, of 
this city, who is advantageously known to the Christian public as 
the author of several valuable works on subjects of vital impor- 
tance at the present time to Protestant Christendom. We have 
carefully read this publication, and do not hesitate to say that, in 
our opinion, it is one of the author's best productions, both as to 
force of reasoning and finish of style. 

It is but due to Dr. Smyth to add, and we take pleasure in doing 
so, that we except his publications entirely from the foregoing cen 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



15 



sure. His notice of the Methodist E. Church in his work on Ec- 
clesiastical Republicanism, is frank and kind; and although he 
has not presented the peculiarities of its organization in the point 
of light which we think sheer justice demands, yet he has not 
descended from the port of the catholic Christian, the accomplished 
scholar, the finished gentleman, to misrepresent and injure. 



From the Charleston Observer. 

It is about two years since the Rev. Mr. Smyth, of this city, 
issued a large volume, entitled " The Prelatical Doctrine of the 
Apostolical Succession examined, and the Protestant Ministry 
defended against the assumptions of Popery and High Church- 
ism" — and this is now followed by an 8vo volume of nearly 600 
pages. The larger part of the work is devoted to the proof that 
Presbytery is the Scriptural and Apostolical order of the Church. 
Then the claims of Presbytery to the true Apostolic Succession 
are sustained by an appeal to the Fathers, the Schoolmen, the 
Reformers, and to the Romish, Anglican, and other Churches — 
and the work concludes with proofs of the antiquity of Presby- 
tery ; with an exhibition of the Presbyterianism of the ancient 
Culdees of Ireland and Scotland, and also of St. Patrick. In de- 
fining his position, Mr. Smyth maintains that Presbyters are the 
only Bishops recognized in the word of God — that they are em- 
powered to discharge all the offices and functions of the Christian 
ministry — that they succeed to all that authority, and to all those 
duties which have been devolved, by the Apostles, upon their 
successors in the ordinary and permanent ministry of the Gospel, 
and that there is no other order of Ministers distinct from and 
superior to them, to whom is given the exclusive possession of all 
ecclesiastical authority. He then openly denies the truth of the 
position, as maintained by Prelatists — that there are three original 
and distinct orders in the ministry — Bishops, Presbyters, and Dea- 
cons — each instituted by Divine right through the inspiration of 
the Holy Ghost, and each of them essential to the valid constitu- 
tion of a Church of Christ. His work is, therefore, both didactic 
and polemic. He shows both what is, and what is not, the Primi- 
tive, Scriptural, and Apostolical order of the Church. Besides 
frequent brief appeals to the Scriptures, he has brought about fifty 
passages in particular illustration of the positions which he has 
assumed ; and his references are numerous to the most eminent 
writers on the subject, both ancient and modern. From the rich 
sources of information in the possession of the author, he could 
have compiled a work of great service to the truth and to the 
Church; but he has done much more. He has furnished as ori- 
ginal a production as the nature of the subject would admit — 



16 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



admirably arranged — and if there be any fault, it is in the supera- 
bundance of the proof brought to sustain positions which cannot 
be successfully controverted. So that if any should undertake to 
answer it, they will pass lightly over the main argument, and 
seize upon some of the appendages to which even the author has 
attached very little value. It is possible that Prelatists may pass 
this work by, under the assumption that their claims are beyond 
the reach of any such appeal. But whether they notice it or not, 
it will commend itself to the judgment and conscience of every 
intelligent and impartial reader. There is, moreover, very little, 
if any tiling, which may properly be called sectarian, in the work 
All but Prelatists may read and enjoy it, and we feel no hesitancy 
in recommending it, especially to those who are set for the defence 
of the Gospel. This, together with the work on the Apostolic 
Succession, forms two of the best Tracts for the Times with 
which we are acquainted. 



From the (N. Y.) Baptist Advocate. 

An octavo, of nearly 600 pages, handsomely printed on clear 
paper, and neatly bound. It is designed, not to exhibit and en- 
force all the doctrines and views of Presbyterianism, but merely 
to prove, from Scripture, history, and reason, that instead of three 
orders in the ministry, as Churchmen claim, there was instituted 
by the Apostles, and has continued throughout a great part of the 
Church till the present day, but one order, that of Presbyters or 
Elders, holding one, and a uniformly equal office. To sustain this 
view, the author has collected a mass of testimony and evidence 
from ecclesiastical writers, which evinces a degree of research not 
often expended in our day in preparing a volume for the press. 
The prelatical assumptions of Puseyism are 'wrested from them by 
the force of weapons taken from the hands of illustrious Church- 
men, and little is left to cover their mortified defeat, but their own 
imperturbable effrontery. 

The author does not fail of argument, but the chief merit of the 
work consists in its abundant and appropriate extracts, quotations, 
and citations from authors not accessible to many readers. Care 
is taken, we believe, in every instance, to give in a note the book 
and page referred to in the body of the work. 



From the Southern Baptist Advocate. 

That these are able, learned, and, on the whole, candid works, 
it needs not our suffrages to testify. Mr. Smyth, in a commenda- 
ble spirit of charity, would construe the word Presbytery as em 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



17 



bracing the Eldership of all non-prelatical Churches. Let him 
speak for himself on this important point. ****** This first 
work will materially aid the young student of ecclesiastical gov- 
ernment in arriving at that understanding, and as such, we cor- 
dially recommend it to his attention. We wish we could copy 
the whole of Mr Smyth's " Contents," but this our limits do not 
permit. Those of the first three chapters of Book I., and those 
of Book III., will give a fair idea of the whole. 



From the Southern Chronicle. 

We have received cf the Reverend Author, "Presbytery and 
not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primitive Polity, proved from the 
testimonies of Scripture, the Fathers, the Schoolmen, the Reform- 
ers, and the English and Oriental Churches." Also, " Ecclesias- 
tical Republicanism ; or the Republicanism, Liberality, and Catho- 
licity of Presbytery in contrast with Prelacy and Popery;" both 
by the Rev. Thomas Smyth, D. D., of Charleston. 

The author is already favorably known to the religious public 
through his "Lectures on Apostolical Succession," and other 
works; and although we have not had time to form any opinion 
of the merits of the works before us, we have no doubt, from his 
established reputation, and character for piety and learning, they 
will be an acquisition to the theologian and patriot. 



From the South Carolinian. 
In this work, as we gather from its preface, etc., not having had 
leisure to read it, the design of the author has been to condense 
the substance of all that is valuable from the various treatises 
which have been written on this great controversy, in England 
and on the Continent of Europe. And, to arrange the various 
topics in a complete and comprehensive order, the work is divided 
into three Books, each of which is subdivided into several chap- 
ters. 

The Rev. Author of these works is an able and accomplished 
scholar, whose writings are too well known and too highly appre- 
ciated by the Christian community, to require any encomium or 
approbation from us; and those before us have elicited the high- 
est testimonials of approval and regard from many of the ablest 
religious papers and most eminent divines in the country ; from 
among which, we select the following, by the Rev. Dr. Miller, 
than whom few, if any, can have higher or more deserved influ- 
ence with those who concur with him in religious dcctrines : 

"We return our sincere thanks to the respected and gifted au- 
thor, for the volumes before us, whose high character cannot fail 

b* 



18 CRITICAL NOTICES. 

to command from us, as from others, an early and attentive 
perusal. 



From the Protestant and Herald. 

Presbytery and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primitive 
Polity : also, The Antiquity of Presbytery, including an 
account of the Ancient Culdees, and of St. Patrick, pp. 568. 

Ecclesiastical Republicanism, or the Republicanism, Libe- 
rality, and Catholicity of Presbytery, in contrast with Prelacy 
and Popery, by Rev. Thomas Smyth, D. D., Charleston, S. C. 
pp. 323. 

We are under obligations to the learned author for copies of 
the above works, which were sent to us some time since, and 
have not been noticed heretofore, because, on account of absence 
from home, we have not had time to peruse them. They have 
been for some months before the public, and have called forth 
the almost entire approbation of the whole anti-Prelatical Chris- 
tian community. The subject of Church Government seems to 
be undergoing a thorough revision, by almost the entire Chris- 
tian world at the present time, in consequence of the arrogant 
claims of Prelatists to the Episcopal being the only true Church. 
This controversy has not hitherto agitated the Western Churches 
to any considerable extent, from the fact that the Episcopal Church 
is quite small as to numbers and influence amongst us ; still it 
will, sooner or later, reach us, and we shall be compelled to meet 
it in some shape. We know of no better method of preparing for 
it, than to purchase and study these volumes. The author exhib- 
its great industry and research, and being the possessor of one of 
the best private libraries in our country, he has had access to 
almost every work that has ever been written upon these subjects 
He possesses a strong mind and rather lively imagination, which 
give to his style a vivacity which makes those portions of these 
works, which are comparatively uninteresting, quite readable. — 
He draws his arguments from Scripture, the Fathers, the School- 
men, the Reformers, and the English and Oriental Churches. He 
shows that the Presbyterian form of government not only has the 
sanction of Scripture and antiquity, but that it is pre-eminently 
favorable to civil and religious liberty. The author has laid the 
Presbyterian Church under deep and lasting obligation, for this able 
defence of her government and order. Her ministers and elders 
will be unfaithful to their trust, should they fail to avail themselves 
of these facilities for defending her from the attacks of her enemies, 
when placed within their reach. The paper, type, and binding, 
are all very good. The works are for sale in Cincinnati. We 
have marked several extracts for our paper. 



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and being conducted into this part of the building through tin pipes, 
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From this description it will be seen that our office is arranged upon a 
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tum Graece. Edited by Edward Robinson, D.D. Published by Leavitt, 
Trow & Co. — Nordheimer's Hebrew Grammar and Concordance. 
published by Wiley & Putnam. — Xenophon's Anabasis, and Homer's 
Odyssey. Edited by J, J. Owen, A.M. Published by Leavitt/Trow & 
Co.— Crusius' Homeric Lexicon. Translated by Prof. H. Smith. Pub- 
lished by H. Huntington, Hartford.— Bush's Hebrew Grammar, and 
other works. 

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iSpmmena of <8>mk anlr (Driental 



I. 

PICA GREEK. 

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top &e6v. Ildvra 8c avrov iysvSTO, xal x^Q^ a v- 



II. 

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VI. 

GREAT PRIMER HEBREW. 

jpxn ran crcaisn na trrfw &na trBtona 

/ v t t ••: • - t - • v: t t • : 

irm ninr ^srbs wJrn rti *nh nn^n nsrn 

- : : : — I v : t t : t ' v t t 

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VII. 

ENGLISH HEBREW. 
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VIII. 

PICA HEBREW. 

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■jxrfo dt n-tt^ DvT?a anpn : -pnn fsi wi yo bwi aiD-«a ^iach-nK 

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XI. 

LONG ? RIMER HEBREW, 
(without points.) 

f ri»m : pan nso D-'aen rw* tj^nb^ »*a trn&wia 
nsma tnnbi* mm ninn "osrb:? -pm mm inn nrprr 
»Tn nn&Ofri -n&oir 1 Dmbts n».w>i :tnan "os-b? 



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(without points.) 

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dwk nm mnn 'jfl-^y ^trrn imi inn nntr? 

XIII. 

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♦ "j^^pn *5if> ■©» t>»:>if> *5i>ih : p>w >:r>~if> pdtw wobf> pni ©it>p 



XIV. 

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XV. 

ENGLISH SYRIAC. 

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PICA ARABIC. 

xxi >A&5 3U (^J^ U3I Jyu £^ 

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SMALL PICA ARABIC. 

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PICA SAMARITAN. 

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7 



® — 1 

LEAYITT, TKOW & CO., 

BOOKSELLERS, 194 BROADWAY, NEW-YORK. 

HAVE RECENTLY PUBLISHED 

EDWARDS'S WORKS, 

FOUR VOLUMES OCTAVO, HANDSOMELY BOUND. 

The Complete Works of President Edwards. A reprint of the Wor- 
cester Edition, with several valuable additions, and a copious General 
Index never before published. 

BARNES'S NOTES ON JOB. 

Notes, Critical, Illustrative and Practical, on the Book of Job; with a 
New Translation and an Introductory Dissertation. By Albert Barnes 
2 vols 12mo. 

From the New-York Observer. 
" The more we read them, the more we value them." 

From the New-York Evangelist. 
** It is a most able, useful, and creditable work." 

OWEN'S XENOPHON'S ANABASIS. 

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distinguished scholars. 

OWEN'S HOMER'S ODYSSEY. 

The particular attention of all Professors and Teachers is invited to 
this the first American edition of the Odyssey. 

ROBINSON'S HAHN'S GREEK TESTAMENT- 

From Professor Stuart, of Andover. 
There can scarcely be a doubt, that this edition of the New Testament, 
will, from its cheapness and excellence, soon occupy the whole of our 
market. On many accounts it is preferable to Knapp, and on all accounts 
far superior to our common editions. It is truly a work of " multum in 
parvo." 

!N PRESS, 

an edition of this work, octavo size, printed on fine sized paper, suitable 
for making marginal notes. 

in immediate preparation, 
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